


Mean Queens

by purecamp, thewritingnymph



Series: Mean Queens: The Series [1]
Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: F/F, Mean Girls References
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-02 11:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 68,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13316826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purecamp/pseuds/purecamp, https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewritingnymph/pseuds/thewritingnymph
Summary: When Russian teen Yekaterina Zamolodchikova moves to America, all she wants is to fit in and find some friends. But when those friends turn out to have ulterior motives, Katya finds herself clinging on with the tips of her fingers. Has she bitten off more than she can chew?If you know the iconic film Mean Girls ... you know what's happening. We've fiddled with the plot and thrown in some curveballs, so keep your eyes peeled...





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Once upon a time (about a year ago now), pureCAMP and I thought it would be an excellent idea to take the film Mean Girls, and shake the plot around and throw some queens at it. Thus, Mean Queens was born, and we published it over the last year over at Artificial Queens on tumblr, and thought it was about time it got some ao3 loving. I'm just publishing the first chapter tonight because it's late and I'm a werqing queen, and the other twenty chapters will go up over the next few days/week dependant on how busy life gets.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! Let us know what you think, Mean Queens has become our baby and we love all our characters so so much.

“Do I look American enough?” Katya called out, bounding down the steps of her new home and skidding to a halt in front of her mom, who smiled and nodded.

“Honey, you look great. No one has ever looked better on their first day of school.”

“That’s because they’re usually five,” Katya added, but her mom pretended not to have heard her.

“I’ve packed your lunch bag into your rucksack, there’s an apple and a carton of milk for break time, and all my emergency numbers are on your mobile,” the older Russian lady told her, the crack in her voice and moisture in her eyes betraying her true feelings about sending her only daughter to the wolves. Or high school, as most people knew it. 

Katya rolled her eyes. It wasn’t like she’d never gone to school before, but her tiny school in Russia was nothing compared to the large high school she was about to attend. In Russia she’d had the same three friends all the way from kindergarten on. In America she had no one, but wasn’t about to let that attitude stop her. After all, if it was anything like the movies then the first day would be hell until some quirky characters adopted her into their group. She just had to keep thinking of that.

“Thanks mom,” was all she replied, pulling on her jacket and slinging her backpack onto her back, feeling the familiar weight settle into place and grounding her a little. She kissed her mom on the cheek, and made to move to the front door, but was stopped by a firm hand on her bicep.

“I need to get a picture first, kotyonok,” her mom’s voice held a final note to it, and Katya knew there was no point in resisting.

Reluctantly she posed in front of the fireplace, starting with basic poses, and ending up on her hands, legs kicking in the air and t-shirt flapped down over her face. After a solid five minutes of posing, Katya’s mom was finally happy and let the girl go, Katya just about making it onto the bus that stopped at the end of her street.

This was her first task, and potentially the most daunting, depending on how it went. She could end up sitting next to her future best friend, someone she’d be able to bond with on every bus journey from now until the end of time, or she could end up sitting next to someone who would go on to make her life a living hell. It really was a coin toss, and she didn’t know whether she was going to land on heads or tails. Nor, for that matter, did she know if heads was good and tails bad, or vice versa. 

She’d been hesitating at the front of the bus for far too long at this point, and every eye on that bus was trained on her, new girl excitement buzzing around the small, enclosed space. Very enclosed space. Katya could feel her breathing speeding up and her palms growing sweaty, and she wanted nothing more than to run off the of the bus and back into her house. But she could just imagine the disappointment on her mom’s face, and knew she had to press on. Looking around for the nearest available seat, she immediately threw herself onto it, and had just sat down when she heard a cough behind her.

Fear grasping her insides, Katya’s head flew round to find two girls sat behind her, one ginger-haired and full figured, and one a lot smaller with smudged black eyeliner and a rats nest of black hair.

“You really don’t want to sit there,” the dark haired girl warned her, a grin playing around the edges of her lips. The ginger nodded.

“Big mistake. He’s...gassy,” The ginger one mouthed, covering her lips with her hand to avoid anyone else seeing.

“Oh.” Katya murmured, looking around. “Is there anywhere else…?”

“Doesn’t seem like it. Guess you’re stuck there.” The dark haired girl shrugged. “I’m Adore.”

“Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova. But you can just call me Katya.” She said, slightly unsure of herself. These girls seemed nice enough, but you never knew who to trust.

“I’m - you know what, just call me Ginger. There’s no point calling me anything else.” The ginger girl introduced herself. Adore rolled her eyes, annoyed at Ginger’s words.

“I can’t wait until you meet the resident mean girls of this shithole. I’m sure you’ll love them, just like everyone else does.” She spat. Ginger placed a tentative hand on her arm.

“Let’s not terrify her on the very first day. She’ll meet them all in due time.” Ginger tried to placate her.

Katya shrunk down in her seat, already twice as nervous as she had been before she’d stepped foot on the metal death trap taking them on a return trip to hell. On the bright side, she seemed to have made two friends, or at least two figures she could cling to during the day. On the other hand, they’d already mentioned that she’d meet some mean girls. As the high school cliches meshed with anxiety, she had a sinking feeling that this wasn’t going to end well. She thought of her mom at home and pressed on regardless. It would only be a few hours, and then she’d be home again. Nothing too terrible could happen in a few hours, right?

*************************

So far, so good. Her mantra ‘nothing too terrible could happen’ was so far proving to be somewhat true. Nothing terrible had happened, but the thought of meeting the mean girls Ginger and Adore had mentioned was distracting her from everything else going on around her. If you asked her, she wouldn’t even be able to recall the lessons she’d had; her mind was too occupied. She’d not seen the girls from the bus in any of her lessons either, and was praying to whoever would listen that they’d be visible in the cafeteria, and wouldn’t mind her sitting with them. There was no way she could spend her first day in this American school eating alone.

Sure enough, the minute she stepped foot into the crowded room, she spotted the two of them sat at a table over at the far left. In all honesty, it wasn’t hard to spot them in the sea of clones. Adore waved her over, a slice of pizza in her hand, and Ginger grinned at her from across the room. Thanking whatever deity had blessed her in that moment, she scurried over and took a seat next to Ginger, filled with relief.

“Katya, right?” Adore asked, tilting her head to the side and pointing at Katya with her pizza slice. Katya nodded, reaching into her backpack and pulling out her brown paper lunch bag, a move that had Ginger snorting into her pasta. Katya pretended not to have noticed, although the bright red flush creeping up her cheeks quickly gave away her embarrassment.

“It’s pizza day, bitch. Gotta take advantage of it.” Adore proclaimed, still gesturing with the same half-eaten slice that lay limply in her grasp. Katya held back a giggle, grateful that neither girl had called her out. 

Ginger stared at Katya, head tilted to the side and brow furrowed. 

 

“Your name...you’re like, Russian or something, right?”

Katya nodded again, wondering where this conversation was headed.

“So if you’re Russian, why aren’t you a communist?”

There was a beat of silence as Adore and Katya absorbed what Ginger had just said. Adore dropped her pizza slice, and Katya promptly broke out into wheezing laughter, banging the table with her hand.

“Oh my god Ginger, you can’t just ask people why they’re not a communist,” Adore gasped, giggling and smacking her friend on the arm. “Didn’t they cause mass death or something? I failed history.”

“Well, after she meets the mean girls, maybe she’ll wanna cause mass death herself. I know I do.” Ginger responded in a low voice.

“Shhh,” Adore immediately reprimanded, Katya looking between the two in confusion. “Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear… with her harem of bitches right behind her.”

With those words, a gust of wind blew through the cafeteria, the doors banging open and silencing the chatter that had previously filled the room. Ginger glared in Adore’s direction, the black haired girl responding by merely sticking her tongue out at Ginger. Everyone else seemed to have their eyes trained on the open doorway, and Katya followed suit.

Her gaze landed on three impeccably dressed girls who were sauntering into the room as though the sticky linoleum were the catwalk on America’s Next Top Model. Each one looked more like a college-aged fashion student than a measly high school kid. Katya’s heart sank, knowing that these must be the infamous mean girls Adore and Ginger had been hinting at.

“Sharon Needles. Black hair, big lips. Punkest bitch in this goddamn school and she’ll be fucked if she didn’t know it.” Adore’s voice was low, a hint of hate punctuating the words.

This was clearly the girl in the centre. She perfectly matched Adore’s description; a tall, statuesque figure with dramatic, almost macabre makeup and unbelievably stylish clothes that could’ve cost a million dollars or five. She walked slightly in front of the other two girls, an air of confidence following her as she did. Katya noticed the dimple on her chin and the cold, piercing stare of her heavily shadowed eyes and looked away, scared to make eye contact lest she be turned to stone.

“Violet Chachki. Smallest waist since Cathie Jung. Looks like a sexy burlesque performer, acts like the biggest entitled brat in history. If you were wondering, then yes, her daddy is super rich.”

Violet walked like she had somewhere she’d rather be - noncommittal yet purposeful and powerful. True to Adore’s words, her figure-hugging outfit emphasised her impossibly cinched waist, and something about her overall look was reminiscent of a dancer one might find in a burlesque club circa the 1950s. Katya wasn’t entirely sure whether it was misogynistic or not, but the words resting bitch face came to mind.

“And Alaska Thunderfuck. Claims to naturally be a platinum blonde, dimmer than a hundred year old light bulb. Some people say she’s got more going for her than her looks. Those people are wrong.”

Alaska was so bow-legged that she should have resembled a baby deer, but somehow the Bambi On Ice look was glamorous on her. Similarly to Violet, although not as drastically, she was notably slim. Her long blonde hair cascaded down her back, with large amounts of it piled on top of her head in a distinctive fashion.

Quite obviously, all three girls were stunningly gorgeous and in perfect shape. Katya’s eyes wandered from one to the other, her mind racing. Could Violet even sit down with a waist that small? Did all that hair make Alaska’s neck ache? Had Sharon been under the knife or did the makeup just make her appear that way? They were flawless, cardboard cut-outs from magazines. Either one of them could have been taken straight out of Vogue magazine and Katya wouldn’t have batted an eyelid.

Katya almost felt chills run up her spine as she watched the commanding presence of the three part the crowd like Moses did the red sea. Clearly they had a set table they always sat at, and sure enough a group of jocks were scuttling sheepishly away from a table in the centre of the room, taking all their rubbish with them. 

The three settled down at the table, placing their identical bottles down in front of them. Katya peered closer, noting that each looked to be filled with a reddish smoothie. She heard Adore snort next to her.

“If that’s what it takes to look like Violet Botched-ki, give me a hog body any day of the week,” she said, Ginger cheering and high fiving her. Katya laughed, nodding in agreement.

“I come from a fitness family but that’s a little crazy. But they do look pretty fucking amazing,” Katya said, tearing her gaze away from the three perfect specimens sitting at the nearby table and turning her attention back to her two new friends. She was taken aback by the looks on their faces, both glaring in the direction of the mean girls, but with notable differences. Adore looked murderous, Ginger looked terrified. 

“Am I missing something?” Katya asked, the cultural difference between Russia and America affording her the luxury of being blunt without being offensive. Adore looked as if she was just barely holding back a tirade of fury, so Ginger helpfully stepped in to avoid Adore exploding in the public space. They tried to save that for the privacy of their bedrooms. 

“Nothing about them is amazing, put it that way.” Ginger supplied, looking grim. “The sooner you learn that, the better. Trust and believe little one.”

As a general rule, Katya didn’t trust people who said trust, but a second glance at the three told her that she probably should. Contrasted against the cheap plastic of the seats, the generic white of the tables and the average American students, the girls could have been young goddesses. Goddesses who could kill with a single stare from their perfectly painted eyes.

Unfortunately for Katya, they were staring in her direction, and she could feel the burn of their gaze through her clothing. Adore snorted, noting the looks Katya was getting, and wrapped an arm around her as if she were marking her property. Any other time, Katya might have protested, but she let Adore hold her in hopes that the girls would look away. They didn’t.

“Of course, you’re a regulation hottie,” she groaned, rolling her eyes. Ginger nodded in agreement, but Katya just looked confused.

“A...a hottie? What’s that?” 

“You look like you could be one of them. Your hair is flawless, you actually have proper makeup on, and your clothes are nice. Instant mean girl status.” 

“But I’m not mean!” Katya cringed, still confused. “I didn’t come to America to be a mean girl, I just wanted to make some friends. Like you two.”

Ginger clapped her hands together. “I’m glad to hear it, Katya. Those girls might seem angelic but they’re Satan in human form. Sharon’s the fucking devil, Violet is a complete and utter cunt and Alaska is dumb but shady as fuck.”

Adore nodded in agreement. “You want to know why Ginger’s called Ginger?” she asked, Ginger shaking her head and trying to stop her, but Adore ploughed forcefully onwards, wanting Katya to know exactly what they were dealing with. “One time, they saw Ginger in the shower, naked. The carpet does match the drapes, and they let the whole school know.”

Ginger shook her head again. “Sharon thought it was hilarious. She started referring to me as Ginger Minj, and it just stuck. For weeks I would walk past my locker to find a note - a crude drawing or some scribbled words, and then I’d hear her fucking cackle. They made my life hell.”

Katya took a moment to comprehend it all. “That’s awful…” She whispered. “Why has no one stopped them?”

“You can’t stop the bitches that rule the school. They have connections.” Ginger frowned. 

Katya turned to look at them again, intrigued. Alaska muttered something, and Sharon collapsed into laughter, Violet following suit. Their line of vision had moved, and was aimed at a group of bookish kids holed up in the corner.

“We’d do anything to give them a taste of what they’re like,” Adore spat out, before pausing, her eyes lighting up. She glanced between Katya and the three girls, the cogs in her head turning and putting the puzzle pieces together. Ginger waggled a finger in her direction.

“I don’t like that look, Delano. You’re cooking something up, and last time you cooked my mom yelled at me for setting the smoke alarm off.” Ginger accused, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms. Adore leant forwards excitedly, all the anger gone from her body instantly.

“No, no, this is going to be good. And Katya’s the one who will make it happen for us,” she informed the two, Katya immediately shaking her head. 

“I can’t...they’ll eat me alive, and there’s really not much of me to eat,” she said agitatedly, the anxiety about what Adore was about to propose thickening her accent to the point of being almost indistinguishable. Adore ignored her, and was about to launch into the full version of her plan when a shadow fell across the table. Katya froze, knowing from the change in Ginger’s expression that this wasn’t going to be good.

“Hey, losers,” came a greeting from behind her, the voice sultry and low.

Katya turned slowly around, her face level with the impossibly small waist of Violet Chachki. From their reserved table a little while away, Sharon wiggled her fingers and winked in lieu of a mischievous greeting and Alaska laughed loudly. She swallowed hard and moved her gaze up, the makeup job impeccable even from such a close up angle.

“Not you, new girl. The other two. You don’t want to be associating yourself with...pond scum. Join us for lunch tomorrow, we’ll show you how things really work around here.” With that, Violet turned with a swish of her ponytail and headed back to her table, Sharon and Alaska cackling together. Sharon blew a kiss, and Katya quickly looked away.

Katya was in shock, not really sure what had just happened. Adore was laughing and punching the air, much to the surprise of both Ginger and Katya.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Ginger exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air in despair.

Adore’s eyes lit up. “Ginger!” She said excitedly, her hands moving at a mile a minute. “This is our chance to get in on all their shit! We can find out about all those rumours, finally take those   
bitches down...don’t you see?”

Ginger inhaled sharply, her brain quickly catching on to the plan Adore was hatching. “Expose Sharon Needles and all her crap...make people see them for who they are...you’re a genius. If you weren’t so rotted I’d kiss you right now.” 

Adore grinned, clapping Katya on the back. “This is all thanks to you!” 

Katya was still confused. Having been told nothing, she’d been watching the back and forth with an increasing amount of anxiety in her chest. Rumours? Exposing? 

“But I don’t want to have lunch with them, you said they were mean and spiteful and hateful. I don’t want to be like that,” she said, chewing on the loose skin of her lip. Despite being Russian, and the reputation that came with that, Katya didn’t have a mean bone in her body and prided herself on being kind to everyone that she met.

“You don’t have to be hateful.” Ginger reassured her, noticing she’d become even more withdrawn at Adore’s forwardness. “You need to act. This could be big. Take down Sharon Needles, and the whole system fails. Take down Chachki and Thunderfuck, and you’ve got anarchy.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Katya meets a new friend and comes face to face with one of the Mean Queens, and Adore and Ginger devise their dastardly plan...

Having blundered through the rest of the day in a mixture of shock, excitement and confusion, Katya waited outside the front of the building for Ginger and Adore to arrive, slightly less anxiety-ridden than she had been at the beginning of her day. At the end of lunch they’d promised to accompany her on the bus again, so she didn’t have to sit alone, and she hoped and prayed they wouldn’t let her down now. Luckily, before the intrusive thoughts could settle too deep into her mind, the mismatched pair appeared, sporting matching grins that just spelled mischief.

Adore threw her arm around Katya’s shoulder and walked her over to the hulking yellow vehicle that looked a hell of a lot less intimidating than it had that morning. Ginger hopped on the bus before them, turning back to Katya with a twinkle in her eye.

“Your best mate is on here again, better grab the seat beside him before anyone else does,” she teased, Adore laughing along with her.

“Ugh, as if.” Katya brushed off, poking Ginger’s arm. “Get me anywhere but with him, please. I can’t have him seeing me all flustered over him. He’ll never date me if that happens.”

Adore mimed vomiting, and Ginger roughly shoved her before the heartthrob in question could notice them. Struggling to hold in her giggles, Adore followed Ginger to their usual seat in the middle of the bus, pointing Katya to the empty one just in front. Grateful she wasn’t stuck with anybody horrifying, she relaxed into the seat and turned to face Adore and Ginger.

Before she could ask the pair how their day had been, as they hadn’t had any lessons together, a girl walked into Katya’s line of vision and hesitated by the empty seat.

“Um, is anyone sat here?” she asked, the words barely registering in Katya’s brain as she was so enamoured by the beauty stood in front of her. The girl in question was tall and dressed from head to toe in Barbie pink, which should have looked ridiculous but somehow looked fantastic. She wore far too much makeup for any self-respecting Christian to adhere to but as Katya wasn’t religiously minded - she wondered where the thought had come from, and decided it was probably because of how angelic the girl looked - she thought she looked stunning. The coloured lips, winged eyes and rosy blush gave her features an unexpectedly sweet, soft expression.

Adore snickered, and shook her head. “She’s alone,” Adore told her, a look of confusion passing over the girl’s face before she shrugged and sat down.

“I’m Trixie,” the girl told Katya with a soft smile. “Hey Ginger, Adore.”

The pair in the seat behind waved, Adore already wearing a knowing smirk at Katya’s reddened cheeks. Katya let out a strangled sound in response to the greeting, her cheeks deepening further as she made a fool of herself in front of this goddess. Thankfully, Trixie didn’t seem to notice, or she was tactful enough to ignore it. Whatever the case, she sat beside Katya and rested her predictably pink handbag on her thighs as she smoothed down her skirt and smiled.

“That’s Katya.” Ginger offered, introducing the two girls. “She seems to have forgotten her name.

Trixie laughed. “No worries, it happens to me all the time. If you’re in a pinch, just call me Tracy.”

That pulled Katya from her awkwardness, and she nodded her head in affirmation as Trixie turned around to join the conversation with Ginger and Adore. Ignoring the butterflies that had risen to life in her stomach, she allowed herself to get sucked back into their friendly chatter as the bus rumbled away from the school and down the street.

“So, Katya.” Trixie asked. “What classes do you have tomorrow? You’re not with these clowns, right?”

Adore opened her mouth in mock protest and pretended to swat Trixie, who dodged and grinned. Katya pulled out her schedule and read through it, doing her best to act as though this was the first time she’d properly looked at it. They didn’t need to know that she’d spent her weekend alternating between breathing into a paper bag and obsessively memorising the timetable in case she turned up at the wrong lesson.

“Ooh, let me see.” Adore said, grabbing at the paper in Katya’s hands and scanning it. “Nothing too bad… oh, you have dance before lunch, who’s your teacher?”

Ginger leaned over Adore’s shoulder. “You’re in dance with Alaska.”

Both girls scoffed and rolled their eyes. Anxiety flared in her chest at their expressions. The three mean girls had seemed absolutely terrifying despite their invitation to spend lunch with her, and the thought of being stuck with one of them in a lesson without Adore or Ginger to help her was pure hell.

“Alaska isn’t so bad.” Trixie commented, taking the schedule back and handing it to Katya. “I like her.”

Adore raised an eyebrow. “Tracy, you like everyone. Doesn’t make them nice. Wasn’t Alaska the one who told you it looked like you did your makeup in gas station lighting using a melted chocolate bar and an under-tens Minnie Mouse makeup palette?”

Trixie’s cheeks went pink, and Katya frowned. If that was the way this Alaska character treated someone as seemingly sweet as Trixie, Katya was sure there was no way she was going to escape the lesson unscathed.

“Well, yeah, she did,” Trixie admitted, biting her lip in a way that had Katya mesmerised. “But I can see where she’s coming from, it is a little overboard.”

Adore snorted. “A little overboard is an understatement Tracy,” she said, both Ginger and Trixie nodding in agreement. Katya shrugged.

“I like your makeup,” she told Trixie, her Russian accent becoming even more pronounced through her anxiety.

“Thanks!” Trixie said brightly, beaming at Katya. Ginger and Adore shared a glance as Katya looked away, suddenly embarrassed. She’d only complimented her, nothing too mortifying. She was probably just nervous from meeting so many new people in one day. Russia was nothing like this. Ginger and Adore were just reading way too far into the situation, that was all.

Trixie glanced out of the window as the bus came to a halt, and sighed. “Well, this is my stop ladies! I’ll see you guys in English tomorrow,” she nodded to Ginger and Adore. “And I guess I’ll see you around,” she added to Katya, before hopping out of her seat and heading out of the bus.

Ginger and Adore waited until Trixie was just out of earshot before turning on Katya with identical shit-eating grins.

“Oooh, someone likes our Tracy Martel,” They trilled, in chilling unison. Katya shivered and tried to whack them with one of the heavy folders she’d been given from a lesson earlier that day, but they both dodged and resurfaced with the same infuriating expression as before. Try as she might, Katya couldn’t hold back the wheezing laughter that burst forth.

“I don’t! She’s just nice, that’s all! There has to be someone nice in this school run by mean girls, right?” She said quickly.

“Ssh!” Ginger hissed. “They might not get the bus, but they hear everything. We can talk about them later.”

She turned to Adore. “Your place?”

“My place.” Adore agreed. She turned to Katya, and waggled her finger in the Russian’s direction. “You’re coming too, don’t try and sneak off. We’ve got plans to make.” Adore told Katya, her tone leaving no room for argument. Katya opened her mouth to answer, and then shut it again.

“Fine,” she ended up saying, nodding her head. “I will come to your place.”

“Glad we’ve got that cleared up,” Ginger said hastily, gathering her various belongings together. “Time to go.”

She wiggled her way down the aisle of the bus, Katya and Adore hastening after her as fast as they could. Katya hoisted her bag more securely onto her shoulder once they were off the bus, looking around at the street she found herself on. America continued to fascinate her. It was so different to the small Russian village she’d grown up in, that was essentially a maze of run down wooden houses lining dusty roads. This was luxurious compared to that. Wide streets, detached houses with porches, lush gardens. Katya could see why America was always associated with dreams.

“I’m just down here,” Adore told her, linking arms with Ginger who linked arms with Katya. Like some kind of cliche teenage trio in a coming-of-age high school movie, they made their way down the street and round the corner to Adore’s house. It wasn’t a particularly extravagant house, but it looked welcoming enough with its picket fencing and pizza boxes poking out from the bins.

“My mom is a chola, so if she comes on too strong I’ll let her know,” She reassured Katya. She nodded dazedly, having no idea what a chola was but confident that Adore could handle the situation.

The door opened to reveal a fairly standard beige hallway leading to a small but cosy kitchen, a wooden door to what appeared to be the living room, and a set of carpeted stairs that were fraying around the edges.

Adore led them up the stairs into her room, Ginger seeming strangely comfortable with kicking her shoes off and dumping her things at the door as she followed. Katya took it all in, bewildered yet comforted by the fact that even though she was in a different country, the home comforts were all the same. Baby pictures lined the walls leading to Adore’s room, which was starkly different. She copied Ginger’s example of perching on the end of Adore’s bed whilst the raven haired girl threw herself into the laundry-covered chair in the corner, thinking hard.

Katya’s body was tense, and she chewed on her lip. Ginger patted her on the shoulder.

“You look like you got ten different things running through your head girl, spit them out,” Ginger said comfortingly, sending a glance in Adore’s direction that told the other girl to hold her tongue whilst Katya spoke.

Katya hesitated, struggling to find the right words in English for the train of Russian that was spinning around her head. “I…this Alaska…If I’m in dance with her tomorrow, what will she be like? I don’t like mean girls,” Katya said, stumbling over the words and failing to convey everything that she wanted to.

“She isn’t going to like, cuss you out in front of everyone. Not without her cronies, she doesn’t have enough brain cells for that. You’ll be fine. In fact, you’ll be more than fine.”

Ginger cut in here, her tone eager. “Yeah, you will. You’re the main part of our plan!”

Katya stared between the two, her brow creased. She wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that.

“Hey, don’t be worried about Alaska. Honestly, she’s powerless without Bitch One and Bitch Two beside her. It’s those two you have to watch, although together they’re all fucking toxic.” Adore said, in what was probably supposed to be an attempt to comfort her.

Ginger rolled her eyes. “Delano, she’s concerned about our plan, you dumbass. We haven’t told her anything yet.”

“Right.” Adore grinned, her eyes sparkling. “Let’s get into this, shall we? This is going to be fucking goom.”

Adore couldn’t conceal her excitement, and her hands spoke with her, flapping around her head. Katya was a little concerned she would take out an eye with the talons she liked to call nails, but that was her mistake to make. Ginger was equally as thrilled about the prospect, and leaned forwards.

“Girl, you are going to help us take down the mean queens once and for all. Put them where they fucking belong: on the bottom.”

Katya froze, not entirely sure she’d heard correctly. Take down the three mean girls? It had to be a mistake. Surely that would make them just as bad? Katya shook her head.

“I don’t think I know what you mean,” she said carefully, looking between Adore and Ginger, both of whom were still grinning.

“Let me simplify it.” Ginger spoke over Adore, waving her hands to silence the dark-haired girl before she could perplex Katya further. “The mean queens seem to like you. Violet did, anyway, and those bitches don’t do anything without the three of them agreeing on it first. You’re pretty and they’re pretty. You fit in.”

Nodding slowly, Katya focused on Ginger’s words, leaning forwards as if it would help her to glean the meaning behind them even quicker. As if they’d planned it, Adore spoke with the next part of their little scheme.

“If you have lunch with them-”

“-which by the way, never happens-” Ginger added.

“-you can get dirt on them. Even if it’s just a little bit. And if they like you?”

“Score.” Ginger said fervently, Adore nodding along with her. “Then, you’re in. You’re a mean queen.”

Katya started protesting almost instantly. From what she’d heard about the mean queens, there was no way she was going to become one of them. Eating lunch was one thing, but what if they expected her to change who she was? No way. Not now, not ever. Despite what Trixie had said, Katya got a bad vibe from the three and she was not about to stoop to their level. She liked Ginger and Adore, and she wanted to be their friend, but she did not want to take part in their plan. Adore held a hand up to stop Katya before she could voice her worries.

“No, listen, this is great. You’ll be a mean queen, but you won’t be a mean queen. You’ll be the Russian spy in the group, and all you have to do is give us the information. You know, like is Sharon actually the whore everyone says she is, that kind of thing. The real good dirt. Then me and Ginger can use that stuff to take them down. It’s what the whole school wants.”

Katya had to hand it to her, Adore was persuasive, and she could feel her defenses crumbling.

“Remember what they’ve done to us Katya. They’ve made Ginger’s life a living hell for years, no one is gonna forget her minj. They’re horrible to Trixie on a regular basis even if she won’t admit it. I don’t think there’s anyone in school they haven’t bitched about or said something rude to. They deserve to be taken down a notch and given a taste of their own medicine. Please Kat.”

Katya chewed her lip. How could they be mean to Trixie? In the brief time they’d spoken she’d been as sugar-sweet as anybody could hope to be.

“Please. Do this for us,” Ginger added, moving closer to the blonde. “Do this for Trixie, who won’t stand up for herself.”

With that, Katya had no more arguments. As much as she despised being mean, she couldn’t not stand up for the vision in pink she’d met on the bus.

“Fine, I’m in.”

Adore immediately launched into another spiel about the girls - how Alaska was dumb but shady and cunning, how Violet was biting and catty, how Sharon was fiery and vulgar. She told horror stories of how the girls had upset others, each one eliciting a louder, increasingly shocked gasp from Katya. These girls were awful! They were ruining lives whilst preserving their makeup and their status as the school’s revered mean queens. Katya was beginning to feel glad she could help knock them down. Her mission began tomorrow, and she was more than ready to assist in taking the mean queens down. They deserved it, after all.

************************

Despite the reassuring words on how Alaska would act alone that she’d gotten the previous day, Katya was still insanely nervous about having dance class with one of the mean queens. It would be the first time she’d been alone with any of them, or indeed had any proper interaction with any of them, and she couldn’t say she was looking forward to it. But this was a mere stepping stone compared to the hurdle that lunch would be.

Katya loitered in the corner, wishing she had her paper bag with her. But then the mean queens really would have something to say, and so she regulated her breathing as best she could. She wasn’t going to give them anything to pick up on, not if she could help it. She’d spent an extra half an hour on her makeup that morning, just in case.

The class was still half empty, and there was no sign of Alaska yet. It was just Katya, a small group of girls in the corner, and a lanky blonde who was warming up in the middle of the floor. Katya’s eyes were trained on her, watching how her long limbs stretched effortlessly into each pose. Katya was a gymnast by trade, but definitely not a dancer, and if this was the calibre of the class well…she was screwed.

The door opened once again, and Katya felt the air turn cold as the chatter in the room stopped. Alaska strode into the room, looking as perfect as she had done the day before. It was unrealistic how the gym uniform, which on Katya happened to be a pair of leggings and a baggy t-shirt, hugged her like cling film and made her look like some kind of ultra-slender supermodel amongst school kids. Her phone was held to her ear, and she gestured with her insanely long nails as she spoke into it.

“So I said yah, I totally-” her gaze landed on Katya, and she broke off the conversation. “Gotta go. I’ll see you at lunch babe.” Alaska tapped at her phone with a long fingernail and tucked the object into her bra, before heading over to Katya, her scrutinising gaze making the Russian feel almost naked.

“You’re like, that girl Sharon invited for lunch, right?” she asked imperiously, Katya just about managing to nod.

“Yeah. Um, Violet asked me, but yeah. I’m Katya.”

“Yah, I know. But it was Sharon’s idea, stupid,” Alaska rolled her eyes, and Katya shrank back. If this was Alaska at her best, god knows what lunch was going to be like.

They were interrupted by the teacher striding into view. She jumped into a split in the centre of the room and raised her arms in a flourish, the students breaking into laughter and applause as if this was an entirely normal practice.

“I’m Ms Davenport, your dance teacher, and welcome to my class.” Alaska mouthed the words as Ms Davenport spoke them, her lip-syncing spot on. Katya almost giggled, but managed to choke it back as she remembered who Alaska was. A mean queen. One of the it girls.

“If you’re new here-”

All eyes turned to Katya.

“-then this will be new to you, but you’ll all need to pair up for this exercise. Jump to it, let’s go.”

Before Katya could even think, Alaska’s long nails were clawing at her arm and her face wore a huge smile. Something about it seemed genuine, but Katya had to remind herself that this was probably just Alaska putting on an act. Thinking of Ginger and Adore and their plan, she smiled and began her own act.

“We totally have to work together…” Alaska drawled, dragging out the end of her word as she pulled Katya into one of the corners of the room. “You seem cool, and I don’t wanna get stuck with Ganja again. Great dancer, not such a great person. Real shame, but not everyone can be perfect.”

The girl in question was currently stood in the middle of the room, proclaiming how “she would only work alone, mama.” As Katya watched, the girl death dropped, and Alaska rolled her eyes.

“You see?”

Katya could only nod slowly, not ever having met anyone like this Ganja before.

“Yes gawd, props to you mawma, OKURRR!” Before Katya could entirely comprehend what was going on, Alaska had embodied a hilariously skewed-yet-accurate Laganja impersonation, and had dropped to the ground in a poor impression of Laganja’s impressive death drop.

Katya couldn’t help herself, she burst out into wheezing laughter at the antics of the previously stone cold queen. Alaska stayed where she was on the floor, one leg up in the air and her lips pursed. She held the position for a few seconds before collapsing into a ball, nearly crying with laughter herself, partly at Katya’s reaction to the awful impersonation.

“That was so bad!” Katya cried out, gasping for breath and holding her sides. It had been so unexpected, and so seemingly out of character for Alaska that Katya just couldn’t stop herself.

“Violet can’t stand her, it’s so hilarious. Her mom used to teach her dance, so she would always be at her house. Shar and I thought it was the funniest thing ever. YES GAWD!”

She copied Laganja’s incessant tongue-pop, and Katya started wheezing again. Maybe lunch wouldn’t be so difficult after all. At the very least, she would have Alaska, who was turning out to be much funnier and warmer than she’d ever thought possible, even if she was a mean queen.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Katya gets to meet all the Mean Queens for the first time and discovers they're not quite what she'd imagined...

Perhaps it was silly of Katya to liken her situation to the infamous one in her mind, but as she approached the table where the mean queens were sat together, tray in hand - she’d already been warned by Ginger that if she was going to eat, it could only be the smallest portion of school food rather than her own lunch - she was strangely reminded of the image from the Last Supper. Sharon was seated in the middle, her lips parted slightly as she listened to Alaska, who was sat to her left. On the right, Violet leaned in and nodded along to Alaska’s familiar drawl.

Katya’s arrival went unseen by the three, who were clearly completely focused on whatever it was Alaska was talking about. She hesitated, glancing back around to the safety of the table Ginger and Adore were sat at. They waved their hands at her in the universal sign of ‘go on’, and she knew she had no choice but to get on with the task in hand.

“Uh, hi,” she said softly, half hoping they wouldn’t hear. But sure enough, three pairs of beautiful, frosty stares focused on her, and Katya shivered. Alaska broke out into a charming smile when she recognised the Russian, and gestured to her to sit down. Katya did so, feeling very much like she was being interviewed for a job she really didn’t want.

“I don’t think we’ve met officially.” Sharon said, offering her hand for Katya to shake. She wore acrylic nails too, but unlike Alaska’s they were shorter and painted black. Katya shook her hand with a weak grasp, faltering under Sharon’s cool gaze.

“I’m Sharon Needles.”

“Ka-”

“- tya Zamo-whatever. I know. Lasky here told me your name earlier. We thought you seemed pretty cool.”

It was disconcerting the way the three of them watched her. Each one was so breathtaking that their undivided attention felt strange and foreign. No one ever paid this much attention to her, yet right in front of her sat three gorgeous girls, their faces betraying nothing, their makeup flawless, their eyes glinting. It was astonishing how three people who looked so visually different could appear so similar just by the way they sat, and the sneer on their faces. Violet disdainfully raised an eyebrow.

“Violet. None of this was my idea,” was all the greeting Katya got. Sharon shot a withering side-glance in Violet’s direction before turning her attention back to the Russian. She scrutinised Katya for a few moments in deathly silence, neither Alaska nor Violet interrupting her or moving an inch. Katya didn’t know what to do other than meet her gaze and try not to crumble.

Finally, Sharon broke, and a grin stretched across her face. “I think you’re going to fit in just fine,” she told Katya cryptically, the two either side of her relaxing and picking at their lunches.

“D-Do…” Katya began, carefully treading water. “Do you ladies really only have smoothies for lunch?”

Violet nodded as she took a sip, and Alaska smiled warmly at her.

“It keeps your figure so amazing. Not like Miss Hog Body.” She started to giggle. Violet laughed loudly.

“Adore’s your friend, right? You gotta admit, she does have a bit of a hog body.” Violet shrugged.

Pulling on her best acting skills, Katya faked a laugh and nodded along with the girls, desperately trying to seem natural. They seemed to buy it.

“We don’t all just have smoothies, though. Sharon?” Alaska said, turning to the black-haired beauty beside her. Sharon set down her flask and rolled her eyes at Alaska.

“Straight up vodka in here.” She confessed, shaking the flask a little as Alaska laughed and clapped.

Violet shook her head. “She’s a total alcoholic.”

“What can I say?” Sharon defended herself, grinning. “It’s to help me forget that I slept with…Coco.”

Katya choked on her lunch as both Alaska and Violet dissolved into raucous laughter, seemingly losing their ability to stay upright as they leaned against the girl in the middle of them. Katya knew who Coco was - supposedly his name was Glen, but no one called him that - and he seemed to be a figure of ridicule, similar to Ginger, for his age-old tradition of wearing gaudy orange shirts. No one really knew where the nickname had come from, but comments about the colour orange were always directed towards him.

“Coco? Seriously? That one’s new, I like it!” Violet approved, almost cackling, and high fived Sharon. “God, who else is there?”

“There can’t be that many left.” Alaska marvelled. “Surely?”

“I can think of one.” Violet directed her gaze to Alaska, who laughed again.

It felt as though the girls were just throwing around tons of inside jokes that went straight over Katya’s head, but she went with it regardless. They didn’t seem to be doing any harm, or really spilling anything. If the whole of lunch went like this, it wouldn’t be very productive, but at least she would escape unscathed, with some dirt to bring back to Adore and Ginger.

“Uh…are you being serious?” Katya asked, immediately cringing at the foolish question that made her instantly look about five years old. Alaska and Violet snickered, a glint in their eyes that wasn’t exactly mean, but didn’t make Katya feel overly welcomed or clever.

“Oh honey god no,” Sharon told her, mock-shivering in disgust at the thought. “We just like to have our fun, right ladies,” Sharon directed this at the two sat next to each other, who nodded.

“Except for the vodka in the smoothie, that bit is completely true,” Violet chipped in, gesturing towards the middle bottle. Sharon straightened up a little as a new idea hit her, and she grinned in Katya’s direction.

“You’re Russian, right?” she asked, and Katya nodded, not entirely sure where this conversation was headed but knowing that she 100% wasn’t going to enjoy it. “So you know all about drinking for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and all three snacks in between?”

Katya tried to protest that no, Russia wasn’t actually like that, but Sharon cut her off.

“Take a sip.”

Part of her wanted to say no. You weren’t allowed alcohol in school; it was one of the clearly stated rules that everyone would, or should, follow. She didn’t want to get busted on her second day for drinking vodka with the fucking mean queens. But Sharon’s stare was far too piercing, drilling holes into her skull, the challenge in her gaze evident. She could’ve sworn the girl was reading her very thoughts. So she took it.

“Eugh,” She shook her head, tasting the bitter drink as she swallowed. “Not my kind of drink. I think I’ll stick to my water.”

Surprisingly, Sharon laughed properly. It sounded husky and rough, like the harsh vocals of someone who smoked at least a pack a day. Or an hour.

“I like her! She doesn’t drink all of my alcohol. Take notes, Chachki.”

Violet rolled her eyes, snatching the drink away from Katya and taking a giant swig before Sharon could stop her. “If you weren’t so stingy, and actually brought me some in, we’d have a great time.”

“Fuck you.”

Alaska laughed at the antics of the pair, delicately taking tiny sips of her own drink. “I can’t apologise enough for these two, I don’t let them out very often.”

Violet snorted at the blonde. “Like you can talk. Let’s not forget the jagerbomb incident, sweetie.”

Alaska blushed a rosy shade of pink, and swatted at Violet. “You promised not to talk about that, you whore,” she flipped Violet off, Violet blowing a kiss back as Sharon cackled.

Katya was sat in a daze, feeling sidelined. From what she’d seen of the supposed mean queens so far wasn’t…wasn’t that mean. A little shade, maybe. At least, it was nothing like she’d been expecting, and certainly no worse than Ginger or Adore had been. In fact, all three had been making jokes and cracking each other up since she’d sat down, making the three seem a lot warmer than they had previously.

Katya surreptitiously pulled her phone from her pocket, and tapped at it under the table, composing a text to send to their group chat.

From: Katya  
I thought they’d be meaner than this, they’re actually kind of funny

From: Adore  
No they’re fucking not, it’s called acting! Keep digging, they’ll show their true colours soon enough. As black as their fucking hearts. And Sharon’s dumb lipstick.

From: Katya  
If you say so mother.

Katya quickly stowed her phone away again, only to glance up and see that each girl had their eyes trained back on Katya expectantly. Clearly they’d just asked a question Katya had completely missed.

“I…uh…” she trailed off, not even wanting to hazard a guess. Sharon sighed impatiently.

“I said, if you’re going to eat lunch with us, there’s certain standards you have to meet. Like, on Wednesday’s we-”

“Wear nails!” Alaska broke in excitedly, brandishing her own claws in front of Katya’s face. Violet shook her head impatiently.

“Fucking idiot. On Wednesday’s we cinch our waists.”

Sharon responded by smacking Violet on the arm. “Both wrong. On Wednesday’s we actually…wear whatever the fuck we want. I don’t actually give a fuck what you do. Go nuts.”

She began the words to what sounded like a strange punk song, but stopped in her tracks when she noticed Violet and Alaska’s blank stares. Sighing, she threw her hands up in the air.

“Well, don’t just leave me to do it!” She complained, exasperated.

“Shaz, I don’t know that song.” Violet rolled her eyes, and Sharon elbowed her for the nickname.

“Me neither girl. We listen to normal people music.” Alaska agreed.

Sharon’s expression softened. “You mean shit music. Whatever, you’ll learn one day,” she told them, with a long suffering sigh. Violet and Alaska ignored her, being very used to Sharon’s tirades about punk music by now. “Speaking of my music, we going to Violet’s later?”

This was directed to Violet and Alaska, who both nodded.

“Like you even need to ask, my mom would be devastated if either of you didn’t turn up.”

Sharon placed a hand over her heart. “I love Alyssa more than I love you, Violet.”

“Who doesn’t?” Violet grumbled, looking more pissed off than Katya thought possible. Alaska noticed the change in her expression, leaning over to grip her face between her long fingers and pulling her features into a smile the way one might do to a baby. It shouldn’t have worked, but Violet spluttered with laughter before composing herself.

“All in good jest, Vi.” Alaska beamed at her.

“Jest? That’s a big word for you, Lasky. You feeling okay?” Sharon pretended to feel the blonde’s head for a fever. Alaska swatted her away, Katya watching this whole exchange with complete bemusement, still not entirely seeing the mean girls she’d been warned about.

“Katya!” Alaska exclaimed, seemingly just remembering that she was present at their table. “You should come with us!”

Three pairs of eyes turned on her once again. Would it always be so unnerving, how they could seem to fixate on Katya at the exact same time, with the exact same stare intense enough to burn a hole in her head. Katya tried to push down the nervousness that swelled in her chest at their undivided attention, instead focusing on the excited expression on Alaska’s face that was clearly awaiting a response.

Katya looked at them with a mixture of shock and amazement. She’d literally just met these girls and they were already inviting her over. Besides, she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to hang out with them more than absolutely necessary. This was just for Ginger and Adore, that was all. Even if they did seem kind of funny, she knew from what they had told her that they would get worse.

“Um…” Katya stuttered out, not wanting to be rude and give an outright no. “I’ll think about it.”

She gave them the best smile she could manage in that moment. Alaska opened her mouth to protest, but the bell rang out in that moment, signalling the end of lunch and Katya’s opportunity to escape as fast as she could. Which she did, leaving the three mean queens very much in her dust.

***************************

After suffering through a gruelling math class, Katya bolted from the classroom as soon as she was dismissed and found Ginger and Adore waiting for her, their eyes wide and bright. They practically marched her round to where they’d stood the previous day - against the brick wall a few feet from the bus stop - and started the interrogation.

“Did they say anything shady?” Adore’s gaze was searching, hungry. Katya swallowed and tugged at the neckline of her shirt.

“Not like…really bad? I don’t know! They were so confusing and I didn’t know what was going on and then they asked me to go back to Violet’s house!” Katya’s words came out in a rush as she wrung her hands in front of her, looking so despairing that both Ginger and Adore burst out laughing, the red haired girl patting her reassuringly on the shoulder.

“Just tell us anything they said that was even a little bit interesting,” Adore coaxed, needing something to validate her plan. Katya thought back to the lunch meeting and bit her lip, her mind working furiously.

“Like…Sharon has vodka in her drink? That was surprising. She said it was to forget that she slept with Coco, but I don’t even know who that is. Supposedly that last part was a joke.”

Ginger pulled a face. “Gross.”

“Are you talking about the vodka or Coco?” Adore asked slowly.

“I don’t know.” Ginger said truthfully. “I can’t say I’m surprised about the vodka, though. She seems like the type.”

Adore huffed. “We need more than that. The Coco thing might have been a joke, but the rumours about who Sharon has slept with change every fucking day. If we can just find the truth, we can expose it. And anything else that she’s hiding. I’m sure those other bitches aren’t guilt-free either. If we can get the real truth on all of them, we can take them down, big time. They’ll never be able to recover,” Adore’s tone was pure excitement tinged with a hint of anticipation.

Ginger nodded. “It would be so amazing to see it. To see Sharon and Violet and Alaska with their tails between their legs instead of everybody else. To see them blushing and crying and hiding their faces. The way they’ve made so many others.”

Katya had opened her mouth to speak, when she heard her name being called from behind her. Adore and Ginger looked in the general direction of the speaker, their eyes lighting up as they recognised the voice. Katya’s face froze, and she shook her head frantically.

“Tell them I’m busy, I can’t go back to Violet’s!” she hissed, but Adore and Ginger ignored her, waving in the direction of the voice.

“Hey! Hey, Katya! Over here!” the husky tones of Sharon Needles bit through the chatter of the hometime crowd, and Katya reluctantly spun around to face the queen, realising that Adore and Ginger were going to be of no use whatsoever.

“Get in, slut!” Violet chimed in from the back seat, the open roof of the expensive-looking vehicle allowing her to wave her arms in the air and gesture wildly towards the empty seat next to her. Alaska pressed down on the horn a few times and grinned at her.

“Go on!” Ginger whispered from behind her, pushing the Russian forward a few paces.

“Go and rinse them for all they’ve got!” Adore added urgently, her finger poking Katya’s side as between the two friends, they coaxed Katya towards the car.

The girl in question plastered a fake smile on her face, knowing that there was no way she could get out of this one now. As slowly as she dared, Katya walked towards the convertible, feeling like a dead woman walking the whole way, the stares of Ginger and Adore burning a hole in her back as she did so.

“Come on, get in!” Violet implored, opening the door for her as she approached. “It’ll be fun, we swear.”

“Wow, Vi.” Alaska drawled. “That really makes it sound like we’re trying to lure a kid into a van with candy. Way to make her feel comfortable.”

“Come on,” Sharon groaned, sinking into her seat. “I want to get the fuck out of this place, so are you coming or not?”

She swung her legs as best as she could in the limited space she had, before deciding to slide right down in her seat, and kicked her legs over the car door so they rested where the window would usually be, had it not been rolled down.

Alaska shook her head, slapping at Sharon’s legs. “If your heels fall off when I’m driving, I will laugh my ass off and leave them there.”

Sharon gasped theatrically. “Oh bitch, you would not. You bought me these.”

“Did I?” Alaska kept her hand on Sharon’s leg, studying the shoe. “Oh yeah, I did. I’d still laugh at you though, and then murder you for ruining a perfectly wonderful pair of heels.”

“That was just an excuse to touch my legs, pervert.” Sharon muttered under her breath. “So. Katya. You down for a date with disaster?”

Katya could see no way out. If she backed down now, chances were she’d lose Adore and Ginger as friends, or so her twisted mindset was running. On the other hand, if she got in, there was the potential she was going to get eaten alive by the three meanest queens in town. Crossing everything she could and sending a fervent prayer up, Katya clambered into the car beside Violet and cursed herself for not being more elegant.

Alaska cheered, and sped off down the road the minute Katya had pulled the door closed, Sharon immediately reaching for the knob of the radio. Violet leant forward and smacked her hand away.

“It’s my turn to choose the music, whore,” she informed Sharon, both beginning to fight over the control. Alaska held one finger up, stopping the pair of them.

“Katya is our guest, she gets to choose the music,” was all Alaska said, placing a weird emphasis on the word ‘she’. Violet and Sharon shared a look, before turning to Katya and smirking, the challenge clear on both of their expressions.

Katya had to choose the music to pass some bullshit test they’d clearly just invented, that much came through. Katya froze. She was from Russia, she wasn’t familiar with Western culture and especially Western music. The atmosphere in the car had subtly changed, and Katya felt cold. She didn’t want to be the mean queen’s friend, but at the same time she didn’t want to fuck this up so badly that they went back to school the next day and spread rumours about her. They were more than capable of doing that, and each and every person in that car knew that.

Alaska glanced at Katya in the rearview mirror, her expression softening. “Shar, give her that aux cord. Katya, just plug your phone in and play whatever you want.”

Alaska’s tone was comforting to the terrified blonde, and she accepted the cord from Sharon and plugged the end of it into her phone. Now she had no choice but to just play them whatever she liked, as she had a very limited choice on her device and if they didn’t like it…that was just a price she’d have to pay, and thank Adore and Ginger for later. Taking a deep breath, Katya pushed the play button, and the opening chords to her favourite track blasted through the speakers, all three of the mean queen’s wearing the same expression - a mixture between shock and confusion, and a lot funnier than Katya had anticipated.

“Oh, I’m into this.” Sharon grinned, kicking her legs completely out of sync with the timing of the song. “I don’t know what the fuck it is, but I like it.”

“Sharon!” Alaska squealed. “You’re gonna make me crash this fucking car!”

As per usual, Sharon completely ignored Alaska, earning herself a smack on the arm.

“Hey!” Sharon protested, looking at Alaska with wide, innocent eyes. “Domestic abuse is a widely under-reported crime but I will have your ass arrested if you keep fucking hitting me.”

“Oh, like you were at that party last year?”

“ALASKA, I WILL CALL 911 ON YOUR SKINNY ASS, DON’T TRY ME.”

Violet groaned from her seat next to Katya, rolling her eyes at the pair them. “Stop fucking flirting and just enjoy the music, this is a tune,” she commanded, reaching over to grab Katya’s phone and cranking the volume up. Katya handed over the device without a word, completely baffled.

She felt like she’d been living in a state of constant confusion from the moment she met Adore and Ginger, the American dream turning out to be more of a nightmare. She didn’t understand these girls one bit. Adore and Ginger had been so wonderful to her but were secretly planning to rip the mean queens apart. Trixie seemed to like everyone but apparently was picked on constantly. The mean queens themselves had petrified Katya before she’d met them, having been regaled with tales of terror, but now she’d met them turned out to be oddly fashionable dorks with a sense of humour. That was, if they weren’t just acting for her benefit and the minute they got her behind closed doors would turn on her. Katya’s head was spinning in a complete whirlwind, and all she could do was go with the flow.

The approaching neighbourhood that Alaska was driving them into was much, much more extravagant than Adore’s had been. Each house was tall, a different design, a different colour scheme; ranging from gothic Victorian to modern and expensive. Each one could’ve cost Katya’s college fund twice over. She gazed around in wonder, taking in the sights of what looked to be a million dollar world.

“This is awesome…” She marvelled, turning to Violet. “You live round here?”

Violet smirked. “Yeah. My dad’s like, the inventor of the press on nail. But he’s a total asshole and cheated on my mom. So to make up for it, he pays for everything. It’s so fucking easy to get shit out of him, I’m basically stealing candy from a baby.”

“That’s what Shar does on Halloween.” Alaska added, earning herself a surprised giggle from Katya.

“Fuck you!” Sharon squealed, sounding more ‘high school teen’ than Katya had ever thought possible with her smoker’s voice. “I steal candy from toddlers, their parents are less likely to be looking.”

Violet snorted. “You mean Shaz, right? Good old Shaz. Shazza. Shazza-bear.”

Katya covered her mouth with her fingers as she laughed again, her stomach aching from the giggles she’d been suppressing.

“Call me Shaz one more time and I will rip that pretty white throat open right here, right now.” Sharon intoned, twisting around to face Violet with her legs still hanging out of the car. “Don’t encourage her, Katya. She’ll only get worse. I’m gonna rip her throat out.”

“Not in my fucking car you won’t,” Alaska butted in, waggling a finger in Sharon’s direction. “Wait till she’s on that front porch, it could do with a good wash.” She caught Katya’s eye in the rearview mirror at that point, and laughed at the horrified expression on the Russian. “Ladies, I think we’re scaring our lovely guest.”

Sharon moved her gaze from Violet to Katya, her Joker-like grin scaring Katya more than she’d like to let on. “If she’s going to be one of us, she might as well get used to us. I’ve never believed in that boiling frog analogy. I say just chuck it in the flames and get on with it.”

“You’ve always been weird, Sharon.” Violet shook her head, smiling affectionately. Katya blinked at her a few times. In the short time she’d known Violet, nothing about her had seemed tender. In the wide range of horrific stories she’d heard about Violet, she didn’t seem to even have the ability to be loving inside her tiny waist and minute body. It was off-putting, but strangely humanizing, seeing her smile.

“Never change.”

“I don’t know how to.” Sharon said back, snaking her arm through the gap in the chairs to rest her hand on Violet’s thigh before cursing something about a cramp under her breath and returning to her original position.

“Behave yourself ladies, we’re here and Alyssa will yell,” Alaska informed the car as she pulled into her usual spot in front of Violet’s house. The tall, white building was spotlessly clean, with two pillars either side of the front door and ornate lamps lining the pathway. Katya knew instantly this place was one of the more expensive houses in this already-lush estate, and that her own home was nothing in comparison. Still, she had more pressing issues than the house itself.

Katya frowned. “Who’s Alyssa?” she asked as she unbuckled her belt and grabbed hold of her bag.

“My mom. She’s an experience, and she loves Sharon and Alaska more than she’s ever loved me,” Violet told her, swinging her long, slender legs out of the car and stretching, exposing a vast expanse of pure white stomach, Katya marvelling at how small it was.

“Girls!” an excited voice sounded behind them, and they all spun round to face an enigma in pink, a tanned woman with voluptuous brown curls and the sort of makeup that one might see on a celebrity walking a red carpet. She gestured outwards with her manicured hands, inviting the girls into the house.

“Alyssa!” Sharon and Alaska yelled in unison, climbing out of the car and wrapping their arms around her. She embraced them both tightly.

“I thought I told y’all that I’m basically your mother, you should call me mom.” She laughed. Sharon shrugged at her and smiled.

“I would, honestly, but my own mother would kill me. If she was ever home.” She stopped. “Didn’t you start that new job today?”

Before Alyssa could answer, or even greet her own daughter, she caught sight of Katya behind the girls, wringing her hands awkwardly as she watched the familiar exchanges.

“And who is this delightful ball of sunshine? C’mere baby, you look amazing. Come give mama a hug and let’s get to know each other real good, okay?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Katya spends an... interesting evening with the Mean Queens

What Katya expected to be greeted with was an expensive family home, unlike one she’d ever been in or would probably ever be in again, but for the most part a normal, lavish house. What she didn’t expect was that the house would be a grotto of style and glamour, with artistic portraits of women modelling for shoots and magazine covers hung on every wall, and a colour theme that was starkly different to Katya’s standard crappy mix of beige and beige, with a hint of greige.

She stood in the middle of the entrance hall, gazing around in complete wonder. Sharon draped an arm loosely around her shoulder and gestured wildly.

“Take it all in while you can because I can promise you, you will never step foot in another house quite like this one,” she informed Katya, the Russian giggling, but also agreeing. Who else would live in a place like this? Alyssa and Violet didn’t seem too alike, but the house appeared dominated entirely by their one similarity - modelling and fashion.

“Alyssa Edwards is a one of a kind original, baby,” the older woman spoke from behind them, before being rudely interrupted by the blaring of her mobile. “I’m going to have to take this one ladies, it’s one of my gentleman callers, but you girls help yourself to whatever you need. Vi, the dishwasher still needs emptying and the shit on the side put in it, see you get that done baby.”

And in a whirlwind of hair and perfume, Alyssa had breezed off, leaving a laughing Sharon and a moaning Violet behind her.

“She always fucking does this,” Violet lead the way into the kitchen, bitching about her beloved mother. “I don’t see why she hires a fucking cleaner, they don’t do half the shit I do.”

“She’s teaching you to be responsible,” Sharon told her in a scarily accurate impression of Alyssa’s voice. She hopped up onto the work surface, and pointed in the direction of the dishwasher. “Better get on with it, you don’t want to disappoint the best woman in the world.”

Violet flipped her off as she headed further into the kitchen, complaining the whole way. Alaska trailed in behind her, and perched on a high stool, before grabbing her makeup bag and fixing her already flawless face. Katya hesitated in the doorway, not sure where she should go or where she fit in.

“Um, do you need some help?” she quietly asked Violet, not wanting to seem unhelpful.

“Ssh, let her get to it.” Sharon silenced her, moving onto all fours on the work surface and kicking her heeled feet into the air. “Get a move on, wench!”

Alaska spluttered and choked, bursting into laughter. “What the fuck is a wench?” she wheezed, grabbing her phone to snap a picture of Sharon and add it to her story.

“Fuck, I always defend you when people say you’re the dumb one, and for no good reason…” She trailed off. “Hey, does my ass look good in that pic? You can post it if it does.”

“Your ass always looks good and you know it, don’t try me like that,” Alaska told her, looking over in Sharon’s direction with a loving smile. Katya watched the exchange with some bemusement, picking up on a vibe between the two that seemed more than platonic.

“Get a fucking room,” Violet directed at them as she pulled plates and bowls out of the dishwasher and stacked them away in the cupboard. Sharon grinned, and crawled across the counter until she was beside Alaska, cupping the blonde’s cheek and pulling her in for a lingering kiss.

“We have got a room, you just happen to be in it,” Sharon told Violet once they’d come up for air.

Violet shrugged. “Not the worst thing you’ve ever done in the same room as me, I suppose,” she sighed, Katya’s eyes widening at the hidden meaning in Violet’s words. Surely they were joking.

“Or the same bed!” Alaska reminded her gleefully, Violet groaning at the memory.

“Never a-fucking-gain. If you can’t trust your friends…” she trailed off, turning to look at Katya and waving a fork in her direction. “Do not let yourself be alone in a room with these two, they will start making out. Or worse.”

It was Sharon’s turn to give Violet the finger. “If we could do the dirty in my house, we would. Yours is nicer, and your mom doesn’t care.”

“More like my mom doesn’t know.” Violet muttered.

“She does!” Alaska informed her. “Might have been last week? I don’t remember. But she knows.”

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE.” Violet cringed, turning to stare at Katya. “Do you see my suffering? I’m a goddamn martyr for dealing with these whores. Look, I’ve got photographic evidence.” Violet pulled out her phone and waved Katya over, the Russian complying.

Violet thrust the device in Katya’s direction, and she stared down at a screenshot of a snapchat, her eyes widening at the caption. She felt her skin growing hot, and she looked away to avoid blushing any further. Sharon, still posing across the counter but this time on her back, sat up and stretched out her fingers for Violet’s phone.

“Which one? A nude snap or something else?”

There were more of these? Katya wasn’t sure she would ever be able to look at these girls in the eye again. Adore and Ginger would be all over this… oh! She’d almost forgotten about them. A twinge of guilt shot through her. They’d set her mission, to find out anything she could about the Mean Queens. This had to be golden, right? Sharon Needles - the Sharon Needles - and Alaska Thunderfuck were, well, thunderfucking, for want of a better phrase. Whether or not they were dating, it wasn’t explicitly clear, but the fact that they were clearly engaging in some kind of sexual escapade was definitely something she should take back to Adore and Ginger. Plus, Violet had, from what she could see, a plethora of screenshots of snapchats the girls had sent her. The solid evidence Ginger and Adore wanted, right in front of her fucking eyes. Katya wanted to laugh and cry. She’d been in the house for less than ten minutes, and already she had tangible pieces of proof she could use to show Ginger and Adore that she’d been successful.

“Ohhh, that one. Eh, I’ve sent worse.” Sharon shrugged it off, jumping inelegantly from the work surface and peering at her face in Alaska’s compact before haphazardly tossing Violet’s phone back to the dark haired girl.

“You bitch. If that had hit the floor-”

“-Then you would’ve been fine, because you have like twelve pre-paid phones waiting for you if you break that hunk of shit, and your dad invented fucking sex toys or whatever.” Sharon finished.

“Press on nails, bitch. The press on nails that you use so you can remove them easily to fuck your girlfriend? Yeah, I can easily cut your supply off, and then where will you be?”

Sharon bared her teeth and displayed her claws. “I don’t know. Fucking Alaska in your bed maybe? You know, since I’d have no nails in the way to bother me.”

Katya hadn’t stopped laughing since Sharon had thrown the phone, her disbelief at finding out what the supposed mean queens were actually like destroying any defense mechanism she had and letting her true self shine through. Alaska wrapped an arm around Katya’s shoulders.

“She’s always like this. You get used to it. Besides, if they get too fucking annoying, just tell them to shut up, they occasionally listen.” Alaska giggled, directing her comment to Katya’s astonished expression.

“I don’t listen to anybody. Ever.” Sharon declared, an almost childish grin on her face.

Violet rolled her eyes. “We get it. You’re punk. Shut the fuck up.”

“Yes ma’am.” She nodded, pursing her lips and miming zipping them shut. Katya started to feel her sides ache from the consistent laughter, but let herself wheeze and giggle anyway.

“You’re both giant dorks and I hate you,” Alaska sighed a long suffering sigh, leaning her head on Katya’s shoulder and looking pained. “I’ve had to put up with them for so long, I’m so glad you’re here.”

Katya patted Alaska on the head. “Always happy to help, Barbara.”

Violet threw her a confused look, before shrugging. “Let’s go upstairs bitches, mom can finish this when she gets back.”

“You treat your poor mother like a slave,” Sharon told her, leading the group up the expansive staircase, the other three trailing behind in the manner of Beyonce…and the rest.

Even in the comfort of what seemed to be as much Sharon’s home as it was Violet’s, she still walked with the same confidence and commanding aura that had almost caused Katya’s breathing to hitch in her throat. The effect wasn’t quite as intense as it had been then, but she still took a moment to marvel at the sheer conviction that radiated from her in everything she did.

“So Katya, tell us more about yourself,” Violet commanded once they’d all entered her bedroom, Sharon and Alaska immediately throwing themselves onto the bed and intertwining around each other.

Katya found her perch on an expensive looking red armchair in the corner of the room, feeling bold enough to drape her legs over the arm of it and get properly comfortable.

“Well, uh, I’m Russian-”

“No shit Sherlock, tell us something we don’t know,” Sharon interrupted, Alaska immediately poking her in the side.

“Shh, let her tell her story.”

“My actual name is Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova, and it’s spelled wrong on every piece of paper the school gave me, which my mom found hilarious. We moved here from a town in Russia called Yaroslavl two weeks ago, and it was the first time I’d left the country.” Katya trailed off, unsure of what else to add. Her life so far hadn’t been that interesting to tell the truth.

“Your name sounds like a sneeze,” Alaska drawled, Katya immediately bursting into flailing, wheezing laughter once more. Violet’s jaw dropped in surprise before she collapsed into giggles too, and Sharon let out a screechy cackle.

“It does, it does, it totally does! Oh that’s awful but it’s so right,” Katya exploded, slapping her leg in her excitement.

“A SNEEZE!” Sharon repeated, her voice barely above a strangled squeak. “THAT’S FUCKING GENIUS!”

“Hey Shaz, your chin looks like an actual asshole from down here,” Violet broke through the laughter from her vantage point on the floor, Alaska glaring down at her.

“I think her chin looks cute,” she defended her girlfriend, Sharon kissing her on the cheek whilst Violet made barf noises.

“My chin is unique, unlike your personality,” Sharon added, hopping up from the bed and moving to stand in front of the full length mirror. “Here Kat, come stand next to me.”

Katya obliged, once more confused about what was happening, but a lot less scared this time. Violet and Alaska followed, clearly knowing what was about to happen as they all stood in a line, flawless from end to end.

“What do you see?” Sharon asked her. Entirely perplexed, Katya frowned into the mirror.

“Us.” She settled on the simplest answer.

“Any flaws?” Sharon pressed.

Katya chewed her lip. “Not on you three.” She was becoming more nervous now, worried that the fun was over and this was where the mean queens showed their true colours and ripped her to shreds.

“What about yourself?” Alaska’s voice was soft, reassuring. “Anything?”

Katya froze, not wanting to give any of them ammunition. Violet took pity on the Russian, taking Katya’s hand in her own.

“Here, watch me. People say that my boobs are too small and look ridiculous on my body, but I fucking love them. They’re perky, and just enough of a handful that my tricks are always satisfied,” Violet said, facing herself in the mirror. Now Katya was completely bemused at the antics of the strange Americans. Sharon let out a short bark of laughter.

“This is a trade secret okay, so don’t go around sharing all our tea. Every day, or as often as we can, we look in the mirror and pick out what people might consider a flaw, and turn it all the way around and upside down into a positive.”

“I don’t…I don’t understand.” Katya muttered.

“Well, take another example.” Sharon said, directing Katya’s gaze from her real form to her reflection in the mirror. “Some people say I have man shoulders, and next to these bitches I’m certainly not the skinny one. But my arms are strong enough that I can lift my girlfriend into the air whenever I want, and my body is fit and athletic the way it is. You have to turn it into something good. How else are you gonna love yourself?”

“This is why we can walk through the school and own every step, because we don’t waste anytime on picking out the bad stuff. It’s a good trick, one that tricks every fucker in that school into thinking we’re near perfect. Like, you can’t just spend your teen years hating every inch of the body you ended up with and then expect to wake up in your late twenties and suddenly feel happy with yourself. You have to work for it.” Alaska shrugged, gesturing to her own mirrored self. “For me, people say I’m so bow legged I look like Bambi on ice constantly, but I love them. They’re long and slender, and perfect for hooking around my girlfriend’s body when I want to pull her closer to me.”

Katya slowly nodded, the brilliance of what the girls were doing slowly being to dawn on her. It was genius, albeit slightly weird, in a way she’d never have expected from the mean queens. They weren’t actually flawless human beings, they’d just cracked the code to finding self confidence. Sharon smiled.

“Now you have a go. Just pick a ‘flaw’-” Sharon air quoted the word, “-and turn it into a good thing.”

All three girls smiled encouragingly at her at Katya stared hard at her reflection. It wasn’t that she couldn’t think of a flaw, it was more that she couldn’t decide which one to start with. After a few moments of silence, accompanied by some serious lip chewing, Katya opened her mouth to speak.

“Uh…my accent. A few people have found it really hard to understand what I’m saying sometimes, but I love it because it reminds me of my home, and I don’t want to hide who I am.”

“That’s it!” Alaska clapped her hands together. “You love it, it’s you. And if you need an extra input, just know that I find it fucking sexy.”

“Excuse me?” Sharon flicked her. Alaska giggled and stuck out her tongue.

Violet cracked a smile, but quickly hid it. “Okay, the flirting is annoying me now. I know how to stop you bitches.”

She walked to the other side of the room, where a large closet that Katya previously hadn’t noticed took up a large amount of space. Violet flung the doors open, revealing expensive outfit after designer shoe stacked neatly inside. She rooted around at the back, moving a pair of suede heels that Katya would have died to own out of the way and producing a couple of bottles of what looked to be prosecco, but knowing how rich Violet was could quite possibly be champagne, a large bottle of vodka, and a six pack of PBR. 

“Fuck yes! You have Pabst Blue Ribbon? Fuck, I think I love you Violet.” Sharon instantly reached for the beers. Violet moved the rest of the drinks onto her bed, dropping them down onto the duvet and gesturing towards the pile.

“Help yourself. Do we need glasses?” Violet asked them, directing her question mainly at Alaska. Sharon was already shaking her head, having cracked open a can of beer and posing for a photo with it before taking a sip.

“Unless you want to drink straight vodka all night, yeah. Straws for the prosecco though, goes to your head faster,” Alaska decided from where she was lying, letting Violet do all the donkey work. She turned her head to look at Katya. “Are you a beer, vodka, or prosecco person Kat?”

Katya chewed on her lip, not wanting to confess that although she was Russian, the sip she’d taken from Sharon’s bottle earlier had really been her first proper taste of alcohol, and she wasn’t that excited to repeat the experience. But when in Rome, as the saying went.

“Prosecco,” she decided, figuring it had to be the best tasting out of all the options. Alaska nodded, pursing her lips.

“Good choice. That’s usually my poison too. Violet prefers vodka, Sharon hardly ever touches anything but PBR out of school, and I just drink whatever’s left over,” she laughed, grabbing two long straws from Violet and sticking them in the bottle she’d just opened. “Here, come share with me.”

Katya grinned, a part of her actually really excited to join in on this typical high school experience. She ran over and hopped lightly onto the bed beside Alaska, stretching her legs out into a box split. She had no qualms about making herself comfortable anymore, and leant in to take a sip from her straw. As the alcohol hit her tongue, Katya’s face involuntarily screwed up and it was all she could do to stop herself spitting back out again. Alaska laughed, and patted her on the shoulder.

“Yeah, this is the really cheap shit. Violet refuses to fork out for the good alcohol,” she informed Katya, before wrapping her lips around the straw and taking a deep drink.

“Honestly, this should be another rumour.” Sharon interrupted, swirling the contents of her beer can. “Sharon Needles is an alcoholic.”

“At least that rumour would be believable.” Alaska laughed. “Some of the shit you’ve done when you’ve been drunk…”

“Alcohol was literally the foundation of their relationship.” Violet added, watching Katya’s face as she grinned. “I totally set them up.”

“For real?” Katya leaned eagerly forwards. “You have to tell me this one.”

******************************************************

“WE’RE GONNA PLAY THIS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY!” Violet yelled over the noise. “WE’RE SEPARATING OFF INTO TWO GROUPS, IN SEPARATE ROOMS. THEN WE’RE GONNA PUSH WHOEVER GETS PICKED FROM EACH ROOM INTO THE CLOSET, AND IF WE DON’T BELIEVE YOU’VE MADE OUT, YOU HAVE TO DO IT IN FRONT OF US!”

The group of fairly-intoxicated teens roughly split themselves, many of them still lingering in between the rooms of the house, dancing or drinking or laughing. Violet carefully watched where Alaska - who was significantly less drunk - went, and managed to drag Sharon into the other room before she could follow her friend. Her entire plan rested on them being apart, and she was already congratulating herself on a good job well done. Now to put the rest in motion.

“I have a bottle!” Phi Phi’s voice trilled, holding up an empty vodka bottle high in the air. She leaned forward and placed it in the centre of the circle where the partygoers were gathered, one of the boys wolf-whistling as she bent over. She turned red and swore at him, and Sharon started to laugh at her.

“Stupid bitch.” She giggled, resting her head on Violet. “Girl, you throw the best p-parties ever but why you gotta invite her?”

“Because she’s someone. Anyone who’s someone can party. Are we spinning this thing or not?”

Sharon let out a whoop and raised her hands into the air. Christ, she was drunker than Violet had anticipated. This would be significantly easier.

The first time, she failed. Phi Phi spun the bottle and it landed on Trixie, whose eyes went wide as she went pink and walked out of the room into the fateful closet. The second time, it was Violet herself who had the neck of the bottle pointing at her, and although she wasn’t sure, it might have been Matt she was kissing. And whilst she really wanted to enjoy it (Matt was one of the hotter guys in that shithole of a school), her mind was on the inebriated bitch who had spent the night dancing with her, drinking, smoking and talking about Alaska whenever said girl wasn’t present. Sharon had told her she had plans to fuck her feelings away, but that didn’t seem to be working out. So Violet had to take matters into her own hands, it truly was the only way to get the job done, both in and out of the bedroom.

“FUCK YEAH! Some action!” Sharon laughed as the bottle pointed in her direction. “I’m gonna finish my beer before I go in there.”

Violet saw her chance. “I’m getting more alcohol, be right back!”

As quickly as she could fight her way through the throng of bodies, she made her way into the other room that led to the closet, where the other participants of the cliche game were. She peered through in an attempt to be subtle, catching the eye of Courtney, who she’d recruited to her cause. The blonde winked in her direction, and nodded her head in the direction of the bottle which she’d just managed to nudge with her foot so it landed on Alaska. Violet grinned. It really was stupidly easy to get away with murder in front of a crowd of inebriated teens. Flashing Courtney a thumbs up, Violet slipped back out of the room before she could get caught by Alaska, who was making her way to the closet.

***********************************************

Katya was wheeze-laughing at this point in the story, having been distracted so much by the enthusiastic story telling abilities of the three mean queens that she’d not realised how much of the prosecco she was consuming. Alaska grinned from next to the Russian, waggling a finger in her direction.

“And the rest, as they say, is history,” she exclaimed dramatically, Sharon nodding.

“The rest is pornography.” Sharon corrected her. “We should’ve filmed that shit. We’d be overnight stars. Eat your heart out, Kim K.”

“You’ve basically sent me fucking porn, you don’t need any more of it.” Violet said haughtily, with the trace of a smile gracing her lips. “Sharon sends nudes all the time.”

Sharon, who had previously been lying on Violet’s bed with her right leg dangling off the edge, sat upright in protest at her friend’s words. She gestured with her - second? Third? - can of beer as she talked, seemingly an expert in knowing how to make sure she didn’t spill a drop.

“Hey, they’re not that explicit. Never a close up.” She defended herself.

Katya wasn’t drunk enough to believe all this… it couldn’t be true. She couldn’t see the mean queens going that far. Sure, she could maybe handle that Sharon and Alaska were a thing, but they had to have been teasing her. Testing the waters. Seeing how much she would believe.

“No fucking way.” Katya responded, her words slurring a little.

Violet closed her eyes, a pained expression flitting across her features. “Sharon has three moles on her left ass cheek, all of them to the left. I’ve seen almost all of her bras and her underwear, with her in it and also her without them on. I know she has a freckle…I’ll stop. You get my point.”

Alaska cackled hysterically, struggling to clap properly with her skewed coordination and long nails. “Accurate!”

A wicked grin spread across Sharon’s face as she noted the still-disbelieving expression on Katya’s face.

“Hold my beer honey,” she told Alaska, necking the last of it and wiping her hand across the back of her mouth. Before any of them could protest, Sharon had whipped her skirt down, exposing the red lace that was stretched in an obscene way across the milky white expanse of her ass. Her long press on nails scrabbled around to pull back the lace, and she shuffled round so Katya could get a better view. Violet howled, leaping up to point to the freckles in question. Alaska screeched, cheering and waving her arms in the air as she tried and failed to wolf-whistle.

“See! One, two, three,” Violet pointed to each one in a manner reminiscent of a school teacher teaching the class to count, before slapping Sharon’s ass and moving back to her seat. Katya was off again, flailing around on the bed as she screeched with laughter.

“You weren’t joking bitch! You weren’t even joking!”

“Oh, not at all,” Violet nodded, a satisfied grin on her face as she picked up the open vodka bottle by the side of her chair and swigged straight from it.

“Sharon, for the love of God put your ass away now.” Alaska told her, a huge beam on her face.

“It’s so fucking white, what the fuck?” Katya didn’t think she’d ever be over the sight of seeing Sharon Needles’ ass in her face, and she wasn’t mad at it. It was a good butt. Sharon pulled her skirt back up, her face alight with the thought of a new idea.

“Speaking of white trash, we have got to show her the book,” she told Violet and Alaska, both clapping in glee and nodding. Violet hopped out of her seat once more, and headed over to the corner of the room, where one lonely shelf resided with a mere handful of books stacked haphazardly on it. Slender fingers picked out a black tome, and she brought it back over to where Alaska and Katya were sat on the bed.

“Move over bitch,” she commanded, Alaska obliging and shuffling over on the bed to make room for Violet. Sharon traipsed over, and settled herself down with them, her body half draped over Alaska’s as she busied herself with pressing kisses to the exposed skin of Alaska’s shoulder.

Violet chose to ignore them this time, instead tracing the glittery letters on the front of the book.

“This book does not leave this room, understood?” She said in a low voice. Sensing the mood had changed, Katya swallowed and nodded.

“We began this thing when we were thirteen years old. We don’t add to it very often anymore, but it makes for a good laugh.”

Katya stared down at the book. It certainly looked like it had been made by thirteen year olds; if those thirteen year olds happened to have the fucked-up minds of Sharon Needles, Violet Chachki and Alaska Thunderfuck. It looked like a homemade craft project, with glitter and scrawled handwriting on the cover that spelled “Red - For Filth”.

“Ladies!” Violet called. Sharon and Alaska lifted their heads from their previously-entwined state, and with some strange non-verbal communication, paused their activities to join Violet in looking at the book.

“Are we really telling her about that old thing? We’ve not written in it for like…a year? Two years?” Violet shushed Alaska, waving away her complaints.

“This is an important part of our history, so keep your mouth shut for just two seconds. This is where we come, when someone has pissed us off-”

“Which happens on a daily basis, but most people are already in there, so we gave up on writing it down,” Sharon interrupted, earning herself a smack from Alaska and a withering glare from Violet.

“-As I was saying. If something or someone pisses us off, we come to this book and we capture their spirit in it,” Violet proclaimed dramatically, before cracking into laughter at Katya’s shocked expression. “Okay, not quite. We used to write about the people we hate in here, rather than always saying it.”

“I say it to their faces anyway. I don’t know how to read.” Sharon cut in yet again, taking another swig of beer before continuing. “Besides, how else are you gonna learn that you don’t combine two different denims, a plaid shirt and those scuffed shoes you bought from the dollar store? Adore needed to know.”

Katya pulled the book from Violet, and began flipping through the pages, stopping at some of the best and reading them out loud to the amusement of the three she was sat with.

“Jiggly Caliente’s barbeque must have been cancelled, because her grill is fucked.” Katya screeched. “THAT’S TERRIBLE! AND AMAZING!”

“And we didn’t even mention the best bits on old Jiggles,” Sharon added, laughing. “Remember that baked potato party dress? Fuck, third trimester realness.”

“Oh my god, you guys are awful. At least none of them have ever seen this, you’ve got a reputation as it is,” Katya said, although she was laughing the whole time. Now she could really see where they’d earned themselves the title of the mean queens, although they were still funny with it, which was quite the achievement.

“If Trixie Mattel really is the school’s sweetheart, the school needs a heart transplant,” Katya winced involuntarily at that one, seeing the humour behind it but hating the meaning, and hastened on, not wanting to linger. Unfortunately for her, Violet had noticed and tucked away the information for use at a later date.

“I saw the minj. And it was ginj. Carpets and drapes,” Alaska read out that one, pointing to it and grinning. “That was one of the first we ever wrote in there. And probably the only one to make it out of the book and stick around,” she added, Violet and Sharon high fiving each other.

Sharon grinned, not a hint of guilt on her face. “I’m literally scarred for life. I’m a fucking lesbian, and a nymphomaniac, but I would never go near that. I couldn’t help myself, she basically wrote the read for me. The world had to know.”

Alaska shook her head at her girlfriend, before stretching out and yawning.

“We should probably get some sleep, or we’ll all look awful at school tomorrow,” she said sleepily, looking around at the other girls.

“You never look awful.” Sharon said, her tone changing completely. She kissed the underside of Alaska’s jaw and smiled at her. “Makeup off, pyjamas on. I’m kinda tired too.”

Violet made barf noises as she rolled off the bed and moved to put the book back on the shelf. She turned back to look at Katya, her brow furrowing a little.

“We totally forgot that you’d need sleeping shit, fuck,” she cursed, eyeing up the Russian. “Never mind, you look about Sharon’s size. Shazza has some shit she can lend you,” she informed Katya, sending a look in Sharon’s direction. Sharon just nodded.

“If Vi stops calling me Shaz, this place would be as close to perfect as I could get,” she grumbled, leaving the warmth of her girlfriend and heading over to her drawer in Violet’s overly large closet. She rooted around, and pulled out a silk nightie. “It looks sexy, but it’s so comfy.”

Without much more chatter, the four girls all began to engage in their own nightly rituals. Sharon and Alaska commandeered Violet’s en-suite as per usual, and helped each other to clean up and get into their nightwear. Violet led Katya to the bathroom down the hallway, and let her help herself to whatever she wanted to clean her face and brush her teeth. It didn’t take long before all were finished, Katya marvelling at just how comfortable the satin nightgown really was (even if it did expose more to her new friends than she would have liked.)

“You’re so right, this is so comfortable. It’s…pretty short though.” Katya said, attempting to tug it down.

Sharon nodded. “Yeah, I’m a whore, sorry about that. But don’t worry, we have no issues with exposure, we’re exposed all the time. Like, what’s a minj flash between friends anyway?”

She yawned, climbing into Violet’s expansive bed and pulling Alaska with her, wrapping her arms around the blonde. “Fuck, I’m tired. Night ladies.”

“Night.” Violet responded, tugging Katya over to the bed. “We all share, that’s not a problem, right?” she asked, shoving Sharon and Alaska over so that there was room for all of them. Not that the space was the problem, it was that Sharon had no concept of space and tended to take up as much room as she possibly could, even when her body was encompassing Alaska’s. Katya shook her head, climbing in first so she was sandwiched between Sharon and Violet.

Not the place she’d expected to end the night in, but not one that she was that bothered about.

“Night guys,” Katya murmured, on the cusp of sleep now herself. Although the evening had turned out to be a completely different experience to the one she’d been imagining in her head, and the one Adore and Ginger had warned her about, she was just glad she’d gotten some dirt on the three girls. It would keep everyone happy at the end of the day, and she had five new friends to call her own.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which katya spills some tea, spends some quality time with shakespeare, and gets to know a little more into the complex world of the three mean queens

Katya had never been the first person to wake up - ever - until she shot bolt upright the next morning, her head thumping, her heart pounding as she realised she wasn’t alone. Gasping for breath, Katya nearly laughed in relief as she remembered that she’d not, in fact, gotten extremely drunk and participated in a foursome, she’d merely fallen asleep in Violet’s bed, surrounded by the meanest queens in school. Which was possibly the most ridiculous sentence to run through her head, ever. Berating herself for being so stupid, Katya carefully crawled out of the covers, being careful not to disturb the still sleeping girls. It was weird seeing them like this, the three girls who usually looked so flawless and untouchable.

There was an air of vulnerability that surrounded them, showing itself in the smeared make-up, tangled hair and splayed limbs of each girl. Violet’s impeccably neat hair was obscuring half of her face, having become knotted in her sleep. Alaska’s right leg was dangling from the edge of the bed, an unusual pink tint left from yesterday’s lipstick still staining her lips. Sharon was still wrapped around Alaska, the smudged remainders of the black mascara and eyeliner falling onto her cheeks. They looked strangely human. Not like the elusive Mean Queens she knew.

Katya tip-toed to her bag and grabbed her phone out, the harsh light hitting her eyes and making her wince in pain. She resisted the urge to snap a picture, not wanting her throat slit on the third day of school, and slumped down in the arm chair in the corner of Violet’s ridiculous room.

From: Katya

Oh man, have I got news for you guys. You are going to love this shit.

From: Adore

Get your ass to school immediately. Meet Ginger and I by the bus stop, we’ll walk you round to the back of science where it’s more secluded. You can tell us there. Not risking the MQ finding out we’re doing this via text.

From: Ginger

Good thinking. Meet you all by the bus stop asap.

*********************************

After simply leaving a note at Violet’s, Katya hurried home to change into some new clothes and made her way up the school, considerably earlier than she would have. It meant she had to walk, and the weather was a little unforgiving, but it would be worth it when Adore and Ginger heard how much information she’d collected. They were both going to flip, and she couldn’t wait to see it. She got to school in record time, having been so distracted by working out exactly what she was going to tell her friends that she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, and body slammed straight into another girl who was waiting at the bus stop.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry, I totally didn’t mean to do that, oh god are you okay?” Katya babbled out an apology, her accent growing thicker in her embarrassment, and she patted at the larger girl in a weird attempt to try and fix the situation.

The girl in question just glared at Katya in complete contempt, her heavily made up eyes blinking once, twice, before looking away, irritated.

“Oh, my god,” Adore came up to Katya, sniggering as the other girl walked away. “You just walked into Roxxxy Andrews and lived to tell the tale.”

Katya shook her head. “Why is everyone in this school known by their full name, and why is everyone in this school fucking terrifying? You just walked into Roxxxy Andrews. That’s Sharon Needles. I’d like to see everyone here try and say my full name.”

Adore snorted. “Come on, you. Ginger’s waiting behind science block and we can’t stand another minute not knowing all the dirty shit those bitches get up to. This might just be the first time they’ve ever been exposed. It should be pretty fun. Let’s go.”

Katya had almost forgotten. Right, they were Mean Queens. They said nasty things about Adore. They teased Ginger. They bullied Trixie. That was reason enough to take them down. They were mean. Katya was just helping her friends escape from the three girls being mean. And she’d keep telling herself that, even if there was a part of her heart that hurt.

“Minj!” Adore yelled as they rounded the corner and came upon a secluded spot in the trees behind the science block. “Stop scratching your vaj and pay attention, Katya has got the goods for us.”

Ginger looked up from where she was sat on the low stone wall, and raised her middle finger in Adore’s general direction.

“C’mere and sniff it, bitch,” was all she said, scooting over to make room for Katya and Adore to sit down. Katya did so, pushing away Ginger’s hand with a partially amused, partially disgusted look on her face, but Adore chose to stand in front of them, way too excited about what they were about to learn.

“Spill the tea bitch, let it pour,” Adore’s eyes were lit up, and Katya couldn’t help but laugh at her expression.

“Okay, okay, this is good. This is so good. Oh man, this is good,” she teased, Ginger bursting out into guffaws of laughter.

“I’d advise you to just say it, otherwise Delano is actually going to spontaneously combust, and/ or stab you,” Ginger said, eyeing the now murderous looking Adore. Katya just grinned, already pleased with herself.

“Alright, alright. Okay. Sharon Needles and Alaska Thunderfuck are total lesbians. I mean, total. Like, I don’t know if they’re actually lesbians, but they’re definitely lesbian for each other,” the words burst out of Katya in her haste to show Ginger and Adore what she’d found out, but as she waited expectantly for their reaction, it wasn’t quite what she had expected.

Adore merely frowned. “Huh? No way. Be serious, Katya, we want the real shit. We can’t take them down with dumb rumours, there’s a ton of those and they love the attention.”

“I’m serious!” Katya defended herself, her skin growing hot. “I witnessed it with my own eyes. They were kissing. Properly.”

“Did you guys drink?” Ginger asked, her brow furrowed.

For a moment, Katya didn’t understand why Ginger had asked. What did drinking have to do with any of it? Then she realized.

“Well, yes, but-”

“So they were just drunk. We need more than that.” Adore dismissed her. “Was there anything else?”

“No, no. Adore, shut up a minute. They were kissing before they got drunk bitch! Like, the minute they got into Violet’s house they were fully all over each other. Violet even showed me these snapchats, and apparently they even send nudes to her. They are fully lesbian-ing it up together,” Katya’s words were hasty and abrupt as she tried to get her point across, knowing that if they’d just believe her they’d have some good dirt to expose. Adore raised a brow, and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Have you got those snapchats?”

“Well…no,” Katya was forced to admit, chewing on her lip. “But you have to believe me, I was there and I saw it.” Both Adore and Ginger were shaking their heads at this point.

“Kat, they may or may not have sent those snapchats, but honey, you’re Russian. It was probably a joke that got lost in translation, and I don’t believe that Sharon Needles and Alaska Thunderfuck are actual lesbians. I mean, you said Sharon drinks at school right? They could totally have been drunk from the start. Or just fucking around and kissing to confuse you. Cultural differences, you know?”

Anger was bubbling up inside of Katya as Adore dismissed it purely because she was Russian, and she was barely able to disguise it as she spoke again.

“You wanted me to get you dirt, and I did. If you’re not going to believe me, fine. That’s your problem,” Katya’s tone was low, and for the first time in a long time she spoke plainly, and she spoke clearly, not wanting her Russian-ness to get in the way of her meaning.

The two girls exchanged glances, clearly surprised by the sudden dark expression on Katya’s face.

“Okay.” Ginger relented. “I guess we can take your word for it. But until you can get some proof, or at least spend more time with them so they properly trust you and give you actual dirt, we’re kind of in a limbo. You down to figure out more?”

It was almost like Katya was trapped, but she nodded eagerly. When they finally believed her, when she had actual evidence to produce or the unwavering, undoubted trust of the mean queens, then her efforts would pay off. Adore and Ginger just needed something concrete to go off, that was all. And besides, hanging out with the mean queens didn’t actually seem so bad. Of course, they were horrible. Mean. Worse than mean, in fact. But at the same time, they also knew how to have a laugh, and that was Katya’s favourite activity.

************************

“Grab your King Lear textbooks, four other friends, and a whole lot of crafting material ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to be working on the storm scene today,” the booming voice of Mrs Davis filled the small classroom, the lady in question perched on the edge of her desk and clapping her hands.

“You wanna work with me?”

Katya turned around to face Trixie, who smiled nervously from behind her. Her lipstick was a bright, baby pink colour. She didn’t know why, but Katya’s eyes had been drawn straight to her lips. They looked good. Trixie looked good.

“Sure.” She responded quietly, a tinge of red colouring her cheeks. Trying her best to make the maneuver as smooth as possible, Katya moved her chair so it was facing the other way and placed her book on Trixie’s desk, the kid sitting next to her having already wandered off and left the table empty. For a few seconds, they watched one another in a strange silence - Katya’s eyes never leaving Trixie, Trixie’s gaze following even the tiniest of her movements. The peace, however, was not meant to last.

“Groups of five, right! Sweet. We’re working with you.” Sharon announced, throwing herself into one of the spare seats as Violet and Alaska joined her.

Trixie smiled again, but it seemed a little more forced than it had when it had been in Katya’s direction. She made no objection to the partnership, simply shuffling over so that all five girls could crowd around the desk. Katya’s heart stopped for a moment, fearful of how the mean queens would treat Trixie, and knowing if they were horrible to her it would be Katya’s fault. But she had to trust that they would behave themselves, and besides, Trixie had already said that she liked Alaska. Maybe Katya was just reading too much into the situation, and Trixie was fine about the whole thing.

“Oh, Trixie! Love the skirt!” She added, as an afterthought. Her tone was light, teasing. Trixie smiled wider this time, seemingly believing her, but Katya knew better. The poorly-concealed smile on both Violet and Alaska’s face said otherwise. Katya sent a glance in Sharon’s direction, trying to signal to her to stop, but she went ignored. Violet noticed the look, raising an eyebrow at her but saying nothing. Katya stared back at Violet, hoping the mean queen hadn’t read into that look and was plotting how to bring her down. That seemed to be what mean queens did.

“Earth to Katya,” Sharon’s impatient voice broke through her musings, and she turned her attention back to the group, who had all opened their books to the right scene. “Have you ever done Shakespeare before?”

Katya shook her head. “I’ve not-”

“-but I bet Sharon’s done Shakespeare before,” Violet muttered, an evil glint in her eye. Alaska covered her mouth, trying to hide her laughter with a cough. Sharon flipped her off, but carried on talking to Katya.

“He’s completely amazing, and a total genius,” she told Katya, her voice filled with a mixture of excitement and adoration. “King Lear is one of the best, it’s twisted and dark in the best way possible - kinda like me - and you are going to love it.” Sharon continued, giving Katya the lowdown on what King Lear was about, becoming more animated and excited by the second.

“Alright, you fucking Shakespeare groupie, she gets the idea. No need to throw your fucking panties at the guy. He was just a dude with a beard who wrote some shit four hundred years ago and was probably a massive gay,” Violet stopped her mid-sentence, amused by Sharon’s ramblings.

“That’s why he’s so fucking good! A punk rock British guy in tights who loved dick and bitched about society through the medium of theatre? He’s a hero,” Sharon’s voice was dreamy, and the whole table laughed at her.

“Hey, if we didn’t have Shakespeare, we didn’t have Alaska in that musical adaptation of Macbeth. A truly iconic Lady Macbeth.” Sharon finished, pretending to hide her face behind the book after her long spiel.

“You just liked her tits in that dress,” Violet told her, Alaska’s face flushing a bright shade of crimson as she swatted at Violet.

“Guilty until proven innocent. But I think everyone agreed that Alaska’s dress was the highlight of that show.”

Katya giggled. “Wow. I’m kinda jealous now. You better dig out that dress for school tomorrow, Alaska.”

Sharon burst into unexpected laughter. “Girl! Yes! Her tits looked so fucking good in that dress!”

Alaska shook her head, her long fingers wrapping around Sharon’s arm. “I swear to you, if you say that any louder I will actually commit murder right this second,” she half-whispered, an out of place note of terror in her voice. Katya frowned.

“Sorry.” Sharon whispered, softening.

“So you’re not out at all then?” Katya asked, keeping her voice low.

“To the people that matter,” was all the answer Sharon gave, Alaska keeping quiet beside her, tension radiating from her body.

“So, your family?” Katya pressed.

It looked like Sharon winced, but Katya couldn’t really tell. The slight movement was over within less than a second; she could have blinked and missed it. Her eyes were probably playing tricks on her.

“To Violet’s family.” Sharon’s voice was final, carrying a warning in it that showed how she’d gotten her reputation as the scariest of the mean queen.

Alaska said nothing, her eyes firmly trained on the book in front of her. Frozen solid by Sharon’s icy glare, Katya dropped the question and looked away, focusing on Trixie who was scribbling away in her book in a pink pen. She coughed, uncomfortable with the silence, and started to make some other notes.

“I don’t know about the dress though, I gotta say.” Violet added suddenly. At first it seemed like she’d chimed in too late, but there was a deliberate look in her eye. “I kinda liked it when she killed herself. Now that was a highlight.”

“Violet!” Alaska squealed, smacking the slender girl with her book as Trixie’s jaw dropped. Violet just shrugged.

“What? You were very convincing. I was hoping you’d stay dead, to be honest,” Violet told them, the wicked glint in her eye betraying her, and Sharon burst out laughing, the tension fully eased by now.

“I wasn’t. As much as I love horror movies, I don’t really want to live in one,” she grinned, Trixie rolling her eyes at their antics.

“The jokes are great guys, but can we actually focus? You might not care about your grades, or getting detention or whatever, but some of us have a reputation,” she told them, waggling the fluffy end of her pink pen in Sharon’s direction.

“Right. I forgot some of us wear pink and get A’s and some of us wear black and get… you know what, Mrs Davis is approaching and I’m gonna shut my mouth now.”

“For the first time ever.” Violet snarked.

Their strange conversation ended, the three mean queens put their heads down and started to make notes in their books. Katya peered over to get some ideas before writing, squinting at the writing in each girl’s book. Much like her look, Violet’s was a neat cursive print, with not a single smudge on the paper or a word written incorrectly. Alaska’s was messier, not cursive and she’d scribbled out a fair few words on the page. Sharon’s was slanted, cursive like Violet’s but smudged and smeared all over her paper and the side of her hand. Having struggled through trying to read all the different prints, once Katya finally had an idea the peace was disrupted again.

“Mrs Davis? Someone’s knocking at the door.” A voice called out.

Mrs Davis turned around from helping one of the students as the door swung open and a teacher marched purposefully into the room. Katya recognised her instantly as Ms Del Rio, the notoriously terrifying Spanish teacher with a fiery temper, an intimidating presence and a zero tolerance for bullshit. Like usual, her dark hair was styled into a bun and her arms were crossed over her chest, her beady eyes narrowed as she looked around the room.

“Sorry to interrupt your lessons, Mrs Davis, but can I borrow Sharon Needles, Violet Chachki and Alaska Thunderfuck?”

Alaska let out a long, low groan under her breath as Ms Del Rio’s eagle-like stare fixated on their group.

“Is there a problem? This English segment is fairly important.” Mrs Davis responded.

Violet crossed her fingers. “Come through, MKD!” She whispered, clearly hoping they wouldn’t have to leave with Ms Del Rio.

“Yeah, there is. They have a meeting - well, they had a meeting with Principal Ru, which all three of them chose not to attend, as if they actually had a choice - so they need to come with me now. Is that okay?”

“Of course it is.” Mrs Davis nodded, turning to face the girls.

All three of them wore irritated expressions, having realized there was no way out. Alaska moved to stand up, hastily stuffing her pens into her bag as nudged Violet and Sharon. Sharon threw back her head and huffed loudly, rolling her eyes as she got to her feet and began to walk towards Ms Del Rio. Violet pretended to shoot herself in the head and followed, Ms Del Rio’s glare fixating on each girl as they left the classroom. The silence only dissipated when the door shut behind them, and the sound of their heels against the floor ceased to be heard.

Katya’s eyes were wide as she watched her three new friends depart the classroom. It was the first time she’d really seen them live up to their reputation, and she had not been expecting it in the middle of English class. Trixie nudged her, forcing Katya to tear her eyes away and look back at the blonde.

“Hey, they’ll be fine. This happens a lot, they never turn up to meetings and always get their asses hauled out of class and handed to them,” Trixie reassured her, painted lips stretching into a smile that did weird things to Katya’s heart.

“What do they get called into meetings for?” Katya asked, wanting to keep the conversation flowing, but being too tongue tied to approach any other topic.

“The usual,” Trixie shrugged. “Acting up in class, not coming to class, smoking on school grounds, being generally hateful. And really, that’s just Sharon.”

Katya stared at Trixie for a beat, the words taking a little while to sink in, before she started wheezing with laughter. Trixie grinned, clearly proud of her joke.

“You had the nerve! You had the nerve…oh, that do take nerve,” Katya managed to get out in between giggles, her sides aching with the amount of laughing she’d done that day. Real life Trixie was turning out to be so much better than the one she’d been imagining in her head since she’d met the girl. Not that she had been imagining anything, of course.

“How bad are they? I’ve never really heard them saying anything too life-ruining. It just seemed like petty teenage cattiness. Are they super rude to you?” Katya continued, cocking her head to one side. She was genuinely curious to find out whether the rumours were actually true, or whether they were just a crock of shit.

“They…well, it really depends. I don’t know, they can be fairly vicious when they want to. I’m pretty sure everyone’s been ripped into a few times. They can be nasty when they want.” Trixie told her, her voice soft and betraying nothing. Katya was new here, and clearly becoming friends with the three girls. Trixie didn’t want to ruin it for her, not when she seemed so nice and…Trixie shut that thought up right away.

“But what about to you? I won’t mention that you said anything, don’t worry about that.” Katya pressed. She just couldn’t see anything bad about Trixie for them to pick up on, but she was sure they would find a way - that is, if all the talk was true. After all, she had seen what they’d written about Trixie in their book.

“Adore told you what Alaska said about my makeup once… and there’s been other stuff too.” Trixie trailed off, before biting her lip and looking up at Katya. “Not a lot just…Violet likes to comment on my…my weight. Like, ‘she’s not just a filler bitch, she’s a filled bitch. Filled with cake.’ That kind of thing, but nothing too awful.”

Katya stayed quiet for a few moments, digesting what Trixie had told her and knowing that the blonde was still holding a lot back. It was confusing. She was beginning to really like the mean queens, but she still just couldn’t see how they were so horrid to Trixie, who had been nothing but kind and beautiful.

“Trixie, I won’t let them say anything like that to you again. If I can do anything, I’ll at least stop them from being mean to you,” Katya told her intently, her eyes fixed on Trixie’s electric blue ones. Trixie blushed, her already pink cheeks deepening by a few shades.

“Thanks Kat.” She hesitated, like she was about to go on, when Mrs Davis’ voice boomed through the classroom.

“Pens and books down, eyes on me. Thank you. It’s the end of class, and I know some of you haven’t gotten as much done as you would like, so we’ll continue this tomorrow. Dismissed.”

*************************************

Katya hadn’t seen the mean queens since her English lesson - the cafeteria looked sad and empty without their commanding presence on the centre table - but they were still waiting for Katya in Alaska’s car when she walked out of the building at the end of the day. Unlike the first time, they looked less playful and cheerful, but still smiled in her direction as she approached. Adore and Ginger winked at her from the window of the bus as it pulled away, and with some newfound confidence she got into the car beside Violet. Most of the talk on the drive home was amiable enough, just a casual chat that Katya would expect to have with Adore and Ginger, but once the door to Violet’s had slammed shut, it changed.

“Where did you ladies go after that meeting? I didn’t see you.” Katya asked, treading carefully. As friendly as they seemed on the surface, the shared mood between them was dark and tense.

“Fucking isolation.” Sharon said shortly, shrugging her bag onto the floor and flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Kept us caged like fucking animals. They wanted to keep us for after-school detention too, so don’t be surprised if we get called out again. They’ll probably drop it, if they know what’s good for them.”

Violet stomped into the kitchen, muttering darkly under her breath. “Caged fucking animals would have been treated better.”

Alaska nodded in agreement, the normally bubbly girl scowling. “We didn’t even do what they said we did. I mean, sure, Sharon was smoking, but she’d totally gotten rid of it by the time Del Taco came over,” she added, her and Sharon following Violet into the kitchen. Katya cautiously trailed after, not sure what to make of the livid queens. She settled to just nod and listen.

“And,” Violet butted in, irritated, “Because we were all out at the same time, and like a minute late, they said we were fucking skiving and they’re threatening to take away Alaska’s theatre management role!”

“They won’t.” Sharon spat. “I dare them to try, see what happens. I fucking hate this school. Don’t you, Katya?”

Katya had had what felt like nothing but positive experiences at this new school. A bit of teen cattiness, but mostly a group of new friends and a new life ahead of her. She definitely didn’t hate it.

“Uh, sure.” She agreed, filling her voice with more confidence and attitude than she really felt. “I really hate it too.”


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which the mean queens throw a halloween party, and katya isn't ready for the rollercoaster of emotions it sends her on

The mean queens, along with Katya, were lying full length on Violet’s bed where they’d ended up after stuffing themselves with emergency snacks from Alyssa’s ‘secret’ stash. They’d just finished a long rant about the school and ‘the asshole teachers that exist purely to make their lives a living hell’ when Alaska gestured over at Katya, suddenly curious.

“So you don’t like the school so far? What do you think of it, honestly? It’s not all bad.” She pried, propping herself up on her elbow and watching her with that naturally-intimidating stare that came from being so beautiful. Katya shifted nervously, not wanting to say the wrong answer and make a fool of herself. She couldn’t blow her cover, not now. Adore and Ginger were desperate for more information, and she needed to prove herself that she wasn’t just a confused Russian. She would help take them down, and Adore and Ginger would thank her endlessly for it.

“I mean, it’s not too terrible…” Katya trailed off, unsure of herself. “The English teacher seems pretty nice.”

“And?” Alaska prompted, sensing there was something hiding behind Katya’s words. Sharon and Violet sat up to look at her searchingly, the three of them seeming to have a telepathic connection.

Katya shrugged. “Nothing, really. It’s just weird. I heard so much shit about you guys before I ever even saw you in person, and I thought…it was a little intimidating when Violet came over. I thought with your reputation…I just thought you wanted to laugh at me. But you’re actually pretty cool, I didn’t expect it,” Katya rambled, stumbling over her words in her embarrassment at actually saying them out loud. Even if she was just trying to find an excuse so they wouldn’t pry any further, it was still the truth.

“It’s a common misconception.” Violet told her, smiling. “We’re not as bad as everyone makes us out to be.”

“Yeah,” Sharon added, nodding. “The title ‘Mean Queens’ comes from how sweet and loving we are.”

Violet thwacked her on the arm. “Shut the fuck up, Shaz. We were gonna tease you a little, for hanging out with Ginger Minj and that little rat known as Adore, but you’re pretty cool too. First impressions aren’t everything.”

As much as Katya didn’t want to believe her - after all, Violet was a Mean Queen, and Adore and Ginger had told her how horrible they were - it really sounded like she was speaking the truth. Her first impression was that the girls would be beautiful, terrifying and evil. In reality, they only seemed to be beautiful and terrifying.

********************************************

Just like that, Katya fell into a surprisingly comfortable routine. She ate with the Mean Queens at lunch. She laughed and worked with the Mean Queens in lessons. She stared at Trixie from afar and gave feedback to Adore and Ginger if she had time. Then, at the end of the day, she’d get into Alaska’s car with the Mean Queens and spend the night at Violet’s house, where their facades dropped and they became their real selves - that being an overly-sexual couple with terrible humour, and an extremely tired third wheel who was done with their shit (but secretly loved them to death). Alyssa often made an appearance, bringing the girls snacks and listening to the three Mean Queens bitch and complain. Although she didn’t expect it, Katya had really grown close to the girls. They were fun, easy to talk to, and way nicer than they appeared.

“I’m so fucking excited for your Halloween party, Vi.” Sharon enthused, drumming on the table with her free hand - the other entwined with Alaska’s, of course.

Katya raised her eyebrows. “You’re having a Halloween party? That’s cool.”

Alaska nodded, grinning over at Katya, the excitement showing on her face infectious. “Violet and Alyssa throw one every year, and it’s the highlight of the first semester. Alyssa isn’t there, but she still knows how to throw a party better than anyone else.”

The woman in question laughed, ladling more vegetables onto Sharon’s plate. “I like to see you girls having a good time!” she told them, Sharon trying to bat away her hand with no real success.

“Alyssa, I won’t be able to have a good time if I can’t fit into my costume, and I’m not changing it,” Sharon jokingly scolded, still trying to stop the older woman from piling her plate up again. Alyssa scoffed, but stopped adding more food.

“Don’t give me that nonsense baby, you weigh nothing and you’re going to look amazing. All three of you will! I helped them pick out their outfits,” she added this last part to Katya, before her eyes lit up. “We never even thought about your outfit! We have to get you in something, right girls?”

Katya frowned, glancing between the four sat at the table. “But… I’ve not even been invited?” she puzzled, not sure what Alyssa was on about. She’d only just heard about the party after all, and assumed that it was going to be as exclusive as their friendship.

Sharon laughed, and shook her head. “Not that kind of party. Everyone knows about it, and if they want to come they turn up. Same place, same time every year. It makes for an interesting night,” she explained, Alaska nodding in agreement.

“If anyone turns up and we really don’t like them, we get Nathan the quarterback to throw them out. He’ll do anything for one of Vi’s legendary blow jobs,” Alaska added with a wicked giggle. Alyssa, surprisingly, didn’t react further than a raised eyebrow, but Sharon collapsed into laughter.

Violet merely ignored her and scrutinised Katya’s figure. She was the dressmaker, a skill Alyssa had taught her the minute her legs were long enough to reach the foot pedal of the sewing machine.

“You want sexy, slutty, or scary?” Violet asked her, finished looking Katya up and down.

Katya frowned. “Um, I don’t -”

“Come on, baby. Don’t stress the poor girl out just yet, there’s plenty of time.” Alyssa smiled at her kindly, her eyes twinkling. “We’ll get you in something gorgeous in good time, no worries.”

True to her word, by the time Halloween rolled around a week later, Katya had an outfit. Sure, it wasn’t exactly what Violet had first planned out for her, but Katya was pleased with it. More than pleased with it. She twirled in front of Violet’s full length mirror, her full black skirts billowing out around her, the black veil on her head mimicking the dress. Violet shook her head from where she was stood pulling on black gloves.

“I wish you’d listened to me. Your body is too good to hide in that dress,” she lamented, Katya grinning at her, and continuing to twirl.

“I like it. It’s Halloween! You have to be scary on Halloween,” she told the dark haired girl, pausing her spinning to adjust the eye stuck to her forehead. Sharon snorted, watching her appraisingly.

“You gotta admit, Vi, it’s fucking cool. We would never have paired that kind of dress with a black veil, black flower crown, and a fucking third eye on the forehead. It’s actually kind of genius, in a weird way,” Sharon said, turning back to the mirror as she finished off her makeup.

“It’s like a corpse bride fantasy, but in black instead of white. Only you would think of it Kat,” Alaska chimed in, moving to stand next to Katya as she adjusted her devil horns. Violet sighed, walking over to stand next to her three friends.

“None of you have any taste,” she informed them, preening at herself in the mirror, hands resting on her tiny, corseted waist. Katya laughed, and threw her arms around Violet, hugging the mean queen tightly.

“If the rest of us had taste, you wouldn’t be the most beautiful girl in school,” she said, Alaska and Sharon immediately looking over at her indignantly.

“I’ll have you know, that position is taken up by my girlfriend,” Sharon protested, surprising Katya. “With myself a close second.”

Katya regarded the two. “How serious are you two? All of this is so confusing.”

Alaska smiled, a different kind of smile to the one that usually lit up her face. It was tender, sweet, and her cheeks turned a rosy colour. “It’s coming up to a year, now. We started officially dating a few days before Christmas.”

Sharon hugged her from behind, resting her head on Alaska’s shoulder. “It’s been the best year of my life, pumpkin.”

Violet rolled her eyes. “It’s been the best year of my life too,” she said, looking over at Katya and grinning. “They were insufferable for at least three years before that, pining after each other and doing fuck all about it. I ”

“Three years? Violet, that’s bullshit!” Alaska screeched, starting to laugh.

It was Sharon’s turn to blush. “Uh, no…it was three years. Trust me on that.”

There was a beat of deafening silence before Alaska turned to Sharon, her eyes soft and a smile on her face. “Are you serious?” she asked, forgetting that there was anyone else in the room. Sharon nodded.

“Well…yeah. I tried to hide it from Violet, but I failed. Couldn’t help myself, you were so gorgeous and so hilarious, and I was so… gay.” Sharon told her, taking hold of Alaska’s hands and gazing at her.

Violet and Katya shared a look. Katya half wished she’d recorded the interaction to show Adore and Ginger, who still weren’t convinced Sharon and Alaska were dating. Violet coughed loudly, causing Sharon to stick her middle finger up without actually looking away from Alaska.

“Go suck a dick, this is our moment,” Sharon snapped, Violet bursting into laughter.

“Yeah, this and every other second of the day. If you’re going to fuck, go into the bathroom and be quick, people should start arriving soon.”

Alaska giggled at Violet’s words, stepping back from Sharon and adjusting her red leotard.

“Later, I promise,” she told the pouting Sharon, before looking around at the group. “Ready to go show them all who runs this show?”

“Fuck. Yes.”

******************************************

It had been about an hour since the party had started, with music blasting throughout the house and bodies mingling in the corridors and in and out of each room. Katya felt her phone vibrate against her boob, and reached into her bra to pull it out. 

From: Adore

Where the hell are you bitch? You said you’d meet us outside!

Katya rolled her eyes at the message, and quickly made her way through the crowd and out of the door, where she found Adore and Ginger sat on the low wall outside of Violet’s lavishly decorated house.

“Are you two incapable of opening a door by yourselves?” Katya greeted, standing in front of the pair with her arms crossed. They merely gaped at her, Ginger’s mouth actually falling open.

“What the hell are you wearing?” Adore eventually managed to ask, pulling at the full skirt of Katya’s dress. Katya just grinned, twirling once more.

“I look great. Speaking of great, you need to see the mean queens. They look bomb, they were taking pictures of themselves when I saw them last. Look at these.”

Adore and Ginger viewed the pics with matching expressions of distaste on their faces. Adore shook her head at them.

“Any excuse to dress slutty, you can guarantee they’ll do it. You may look weird, but at least you don’t look like a whore.”

“Speaking of whores,” Ginger chipped in, “Any developments on Sharon and the sex rumours?”

Katya sighed loudly. “I told you! She’s dating Alaska, honest to God. They told me earlier that they’re coming up to one year, their anniversary is near Christmas.”

Adore’s jaw dropped. “Okay, if that’s true then you’ve struck gold, Kat. Now let’s go inside, because I’m fucking freezing.”

The three traipsed inside, Katya linking arms with Adore and Ginger.

“Of course it’s true, and you’re going to see tonight that they are completely in love with each other. It’s actually kind of cute,” Katya continued, thankful that finally the pair would be able to see what she’d been telling them for the past couple months with their own eyes. At least, she hoped Alaska and Sharon would get less guarded the more wasted they got.

Katya pushed open the door to the vast living room where the main party was being held, and ushered Adore and Ginger inside. Over at the drinks table, Alaska was clutching a red solo cup and laughing loudly at Sharon, who was grinning and standing close to her. Violet stood next to them, happily chatting away to a tall guy that Katya assumed was Nathan the quarterback.

“See that? Look how close they are.” Katya told them, covering her mouth with her hand so no one else could see what she was saying.

Adore hummed. “I guess. They could just be real close, though.”

Katya nearly screamed, but controlled herself. “Would you stand that close to Ginger? Or laugh that hard?” 

Their silence told Katya that slowly, surely, they were starting to believe her. The Russian grinned happily, clapping her hands together.

“You two are far too sober, we need to change that immediately,” she informed them, and lead the little group over to the drinks table, Ginger muttering that going near those whores was a bad idea. Katya ignored her.

“Oh, hey! Adore Delano, the one and only!” Sharon turned to face the three approaching girls, a challenging grin on her face as she cocked her head to the side. “What have you come dressed as? A sewer rat, or yourself? I’m not convinced there’s much difference.”

Alaska tittered, hanging off Sharon’s arm. “Or your chola mom?

“Yeah!” Sharon laughed, obnoxiously making a show, and displaying too many wolfish teeth beneath her painted lips. 

Katya chewed her lip, panic beginning to build in her chest. Both mean queens were smiling, but there was something malicious in their unwavering gaze. Adore’s face flushed red, but whether it was from embarrassment or anger, Katya couldn’t tell. Ginger scowled at them.

“You’re one to talk about moms, Needles.” Adore smirked. “I can’t believe yours actually let you leave the house looking like that.”

Sharon’s face darkened and turned thunderous. Alaska kept a tight grip on her girlfriend’s bicep, her jaw clenching. As much as the girl wanted to see Adore put in her place for that comment, Alaska couldn’t let Sharon get herself into another Phi Phi incident.

“Hey!” She argued, but before she could argue further, Sharon cut in.

“Watch it, Delano. Watch your fucking step and watch your fucking mouth.” She spat, face full of fury. Her voice was low and dangerous and Katya took an involuntary step back, having never seen this side of Sharon before.

Violet had cottoned onto what was happening by this point, and led the boy she’d been standing with over to where the group was, her eyes flitting between Adore and Sharon.

“Want us to deal with this?” she asked, her tone filled with ice as she fixed her eyes on Adore and stared her down. Sharon shook her head, and wrapped an arm around Alaska’s waist.

“She’s not worth making a scene over and besides, she’s used to having dirty gutter rats in her house. We’re not, it’s no big deal.”

The three Mean Queens cackled, the sound more malicious than Katya had heard before. It was horrible, and made her shiver as she watched the three walk away and onto the dance floor. Adore and Ginger followed her gaze, and all three saw Alaska throw her arms around Sharon, her mouth close to Sharon’s ear as she clearly tried to comfort her girlfriend.

“Oh my god,” Adore whispered, her eyes lighting up.

“Maybe Kat is right,” Ginger added, glancing over at Adore with a grin. Katya threw her arms up into the air in exasperation.

“I told you I’m not just a stupid Russian,” she exclaimed, and stalked off. She was rattled by the encounter she’d just witnessed, it being the first time she’d truly witnessed the Mean Queens living up to their awful reputation. Yes, she’d heard them be bitchy, but never heard them sound dangerous. Sharon sounded seconds away from committing a felony, and Violet hadn’t seemed far behind.

It was only once her mind had cleared that Katya realised she didn’t actually know anyone else at the party - at least not well enough to hang out with them. Luckily, before she had to linger for an awkwardly long amount of time on her own, Violet spotted her and waved her over.

“Those stupid bitches left me so they could dance.” Violet pulled a face, before smiling at Katya. “Sorry about just then. You looked a little freaked.”

“Y-Yeah…” Katya mumbled, not wanting to admit how shaken she really was. “Touchy subject?”

Violet pursed her lips, looking distant. “It’s best not to mention it, really. Family and Sharon don’t go together too well, that’s all. I’m sure Adore knows, and that’s why she brings it up.”

Katya glanced over at Violet in surprise, not entirely sure she’d heard her right.

“How would Adore know? They hate each other, don’t they?” she asked in an attempt to clarify the situation. Violet shrugged.

“It’s… it’s not my story to tell,” Violet said finally, her voice heavy. “They went to the same elementary school, and things weren’t good back then either. It’s a long, complicated series of events. Again, it’s best not to ask.”

That sounded horribly grim to Katya, so she just nodded. She would have to speak to Adore at some point, and ask her about it, although she couldn’t quite make up her mind as to why. Did she want more information to take the mean queens down with, or was that swelling in her chest the need to defend Sharon from her? She wasn’t too sure.

Katya was about to open her mouth and change the subject when an abrupt voice sounded from behind them.

“Someone grab me a fucking beer,” Sharon growled, storming over to stand with Violet and Katya. The Russian glanced around, wondering where Alaska was. Seeing one without the other never happened, and Sharon caught her looking.

“She fucking abandoned me on the dance floor, all because fucking Willam and Courtney, who are apparently fucking goddesses who need worshipping all the fucking time, wanted to talk to her. Straight up just walked away, didn’t even say anything to me. I can’t believe this shit.”

She lifted the opened can to her lips and took a long sip, seeming to relax a little once she’d drank. “I mean, who does that?! Especially not your goddamn girlfriend!”

Katya briefly scanned the room to find Alaska, but couldn’t see her. What she did notice, however, was that Adore and Ginger were stood in earshot, preoccupied in a conversation. She did her best to attract their attention, signalling to the girls to pay attention.

“I don’t know, I get that they’re friends and all, but she could have at least said something to me, right? Like that’s not fucking cool, just walking away because Willam and Courtney wanted her. Other people want her company too. Like her fucking girlfriend.”

That was the money shot. Katya shot a glance over at Adore and Ginger, who were both listening unabashedly with their open mouths poorly hidden by their drinks. Knowing in an instant that they’d heard, Katya felt relief wash over her and turned back to Sharon and Violet, only to hear her name being yelled from the other side of the room.

“Katya!” Trixie’s voice floated over the roar of the music as she came up to the group, nearly out of breath. It was the first time Katya had seen her that evening, and it was all she could do to not fall to her knees and worship the goddess in front of her. Literal goddess, Trixie had come dressed as Athena. “Pearl’s started a game of spin the bottle! C’mon, you have to come join in.”

Katya’s mouth fell open in shock, and she heard Sharon snort behind her. “Uh…sure! Vi, Shar, let’s go. We’ve got games to play,” she told them, not entirely sure what spin the bottle entailed, but not wanting to turn Trixie down.

“Pearl started it? Oh, Violet, come on, let’s go.” Sharon’s tone changed, a light teasing note in her voice and a twinkle in her eye. Violet elbowed her and began to follow Trixie, Katya eagerly in tow.

There was already quite the crowd gathered in a circle in one of the numerous decorated rooms when the group arrived. Katya spied Alaska sitting over on the other side of the circle, chatting animatedly with two beautiful blondes who she assumed had to be Willam and Courtney. Sharon sat down in the nearest empty space, pointedly ignoring her girlfriend, who bit her lip as she watched her.

“Alright!” yet another beautiful blonde (Katya was beginning to sense a trend) was stood swaying in the middle of the circle, clapping her hands together. “Everyone shut up so we can get this started,” she continued, heavily made up eyes catching Violet’s as she grinned, and knelt down next to the empty bottle on the floor. “This is my game, so I can go first.”

Everyone cheered as the girl - Katya guessed this must be Pearl - spun the bottle, all eyes fixed on it eagerly as it spun. Katya could feel Violet beside her holding her breath, and had to bite back a smile. She’d heard Sharon and Violet discussing a mystery blonde before, but had never been able to work out who they were talking about. This must have been her.

In less than a second, the group had broken out into oohs and cheers as the bottle stopped spinning, the neck pointing in Violet’s direction. It seemed like it would have been impossible for Violet - what with her dominatrix outfit and unwavering confidence - to look nervous, but Katya could’ve sworn that she hesitated before leaning in. Pearl had crawled over to meet Violet, and their lips soon locked in a searing kiss, Violet’s hands moving to tangle in Pearl’s braids. The two seemed to forget where they were, the whooping of the crowd not disturbing them until Sharon rolled her eyes and slapped Violet’s ass.

“Time’s up ladies, you’re not the only ones who want to play,” she cackled, Violet and Pearl pulling apart with identical dazed expressions on their face. “Just spin that bottle Vi.”

Violet nodded, still looking like she wasn’t entirely sure where she was, and moved forward into the centre of the circle to spin the bottle. It landed on Nathan, and she quickly pecked him on the lips before returning to her seat, a wicked look on her face.

“He’s not much of a kisser, and I prefer the other parts of him,” she told the room at large, laughing as they broke out into simultaneous groans. “Nothing wrong with that. Hey Kat, you go next.”

Katya swallowed, unintentionally making eye contact with Trixie from across the circle. Shit. If that bottle landed on Trixie now, she was going to think that Katya had spun it that way on purpose. She was going to think that Katya had a crush on her, and she was going to think she was really weird. Screwing her eyes shut, she spun the bottle and - shit.

“Ooh, Trixie!” Violet trilled, a knowing look on her face. Katya opened her eyes, ready to convey a silent apology or think of a reason why she suddenly had to leave - Zika was still a thing, right? - when she noticed Trixie drawing closer to her. Katya let out a breath, and accepted her fate. This could either go really well, or really badly, or- before Katya could think of another ‘or’, a soft pair of lips had landed on hers and…wow. For the first time in a long time Katya’s thoughts turned to complete mush and she instead focused on Trixie, and kissing Trixie, and placing her hands on Trixie’s hips. It seemed like no time had passed when the other blonde pulled back, Katya’s lips tingling in a way that she really wasn’t mad at.

“You’re a good kisser,” Trixie whispered, before winking at Katya and moving back to her side of the circle. Katya sat back in a cloud of ‘what the fuck just happened’ mixed with a side of ‘if that could happen everyday, life would be great’. Kissing had always looked weird and slightly uncomfortable, but now she completely understood why Sharon and Alaska were so obsessed with each other. Violet laughed, and elbowed Katya in the side.

“You’ve got it bad,” she muttered, and Katya was about to utter a retort when she noticed Violet’s eyes turn wide with shock, and focused her attention back on the game. Her own face mirrored Violet’s as she spotted Alaska and Courtney locking lips on the other side of the circle, the bottle pointing at Alaska.

“Fuck,” she whispered, glancing over to Sharon, who was watching intently. Her features were a stone-cold mask, betraying nothing, but her narrowed eyes gave her true feelings away. For the entirety of the kiss, which seemed to drag on for longer than normal, Sharon remained tense and stiff.

Thankfully, before the situation could escalate any further, Courtney offered the bottle to Adore, who pulled a face before reluctantly spinning it. Laughter erupted from the group when it landed on Adore’s beloved bus friend who was apparently called Robert. The moment was brief and tinged with disgust, mostly on Adore’s part. Ginger clapped her hands together, giggling evilly and snapping a picture for later use.

“I want a turn!” Alaska called out, shuffling forwards to reach the bottle. Katya kept a watchful eye on Sharon, noticing that Violet was doing the same.

The seconds that passed whilst the bottle spun could have been hours. Perhaps it would’ve been better if they were hours, because all too soon, the bottle came to a stop in front of Willam. Sharon didn’t react, but Violet sucked in a sharp breath, tensing. For another few seconds, nothing happened. Katya half-expected Alaska to deny the kiss, and it seemed like Sharon did too. That is, until Alaska met Willam in the middle and their lips connected. Sharon’s only reaction was a sharp intake of breath, before she was back to her stony composure, tension radiating from every pore in her body. The main difference was that this time, her stare was full of venom.

They had only been apart for less than a second when Sharon made her move into the middle, her tone and expression light as she threw up her usual defensive walls for the benefit of everyone else in the room. Katya was fairly certain only herself, Violet, and Alaska could see the crack in her facade, and she chewed on her lip, not knowing what Sharon was about to do.

“My turn.” She challenged, knowing full well that Alaska was watching her. Sharon refused to look in her direction, spinning the bottle before sitting back on her heels to see who it landed on.

Violet frowned ever-so-slightly as the bottle pointed at her, but quickly covered it up. Sharon held her by her face as they brought their lips together, roughly clashing in a way that seemed like a mixture of passion and spite. Revenge, Katya realised. Violet didn’t seem opposed to it, responding just as forcefully to Sharon’s fierce advances. If Sharon kissed like that when she was mad, Katya didn’t know whether she hoped Alaska would offer makeup sex, and get the best fucking of her life, or to pray for her and her poor vagina that she didn’t, lest she lose the use of her legs forever.

“So, who’s next?”


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which the halloween party continues, and all four girls feel the pain in the morning

Before anyone else could even ask if they could have a turn, it was Sharon’s painted black nails that were gripping the neck of the bottle again.

“Fuck it, I’m tipsy. I want another go.” She decided, her expression daring anyone to challenge her. As Katya expected, no one did. After all, they knew what she was like, and after the show-down with Violet she doubted anyone wanted to get on her bad side.

There was a malicious glint in Sharon’s eye as those long bony fingers deftly spun the empty bottle, and Katya wasn’t entirely sure what it meant. All she knew was that she didn’t like it, and she was afraid of the trouble that it might bring. Each and every eye in the room was fixated on the bottle as it span, the tension palpable as the bottle got slower, and slower, and slower, and finally stopped. There was an audible gasp that reverberated around the otherwise silent room, and Katya heard Violet swear under her breath.

It had landed on Adore.

Katya’s gaze first went to Adore, whose eyes had narrowed dangerously as she drilled holes through Sharon’s skull with her glare. When she looked over at Sharon, she saw the mean queen wore a similar expression, one of disgust and distaste. Sharon looked at Adore as if she were a piece of dog shit on the bottom of her heels, and Adore’s thoughts seemed to mirror that.

Unsurprisingly, it was Sharon who leaned in first, despite the fact that Katya had half expected Violet to hold her back the way she swore she was going to. Knowing there was no way out of the situation, Adore reluctantly shifted forwards and waited.

Next to Katya, Violet subtly pulled out her phone and started to record the encounter, trying and failing to hide the amusement on her face. Katya made eye-contact with Alaska from across the circle, who was using her hands to cover her mouth. There was no doubt that she was also laughing behind her manicured fingers. At least that tension seemed to have been resolved.

No one said a word as the tipsy teenagers watched the two sworn enemies get ever closer, both seeming reluctant to actually lock lips. Katya was in the unique position of knowing them both, and knew that neither would back down from a challenge involving the other once it was posed. Reckless, maybe. Stupid, definitely. But it was making for an entertaining night, that was for certain.

Katya held her breath as Adore and Sharon met in the middle of the circle, Sharon’s hand resting on Adore’s shoulders, her fingers digging into soft flesh and hard muscle as they kissed, the disgust on their faces evident to all onlookers. Katya heard Violet snort beside her, and couldn’t keep the laughter in any longer.

She tried to stay silent, hands clasped over her mouth as she spluttered and coughed, Violet and Alaska following her example. The two enemies in the middle of the circle pulled apart, Adore viciously swiping at her mouth with her sleeve and Sharon dabbing at the edges to ensure she didn’t smudge her lipstick. Both girls wore a look that was foul, but when Sharon locked eyes with Violet and Alaska she smiled, that shit-eating grin that put all three at ease again, united once more against Adore.

There were a few seconds of silence, in which the group seemed to process what had just happened - Adore Delano and Sharon Needles had just kissed - but since no one spoke, Alaska took advantage of the opportunity. She shimmied into the middle with newfound confidence and took hold of the bottle a second time.

Katya’s eyes never left it as it span, praying to whatever God would listen that it didn’t land on her. The tension seemed to be over now but she did not want to see the expression on Sharon’s face if she had to kiss Alaska. It would terrifying. She was already convinced that she was going to have nightmares just from being close to the dangerous aura seeping from the mean queen.

The neck of the bottle came to a stop in front of Sharon. Nobody else in the room besides Sharon herself, Violet, Katya and Alaska reacted, none of them having any inkling about Sharon and Alaska’s relationship. Meanwhile, Alaska had turned very, very pale.

“I-I think Sharon’s done enough making out for tonight,” She stammered, her voice shaky.

“What the fuck?” Somebody commented, a jock that Katya probably should have known but was lucky enough not to.

Alaska blanched. She mumbled something about getting more drinks and shot out of the room, almost tripping over the bottle and Violet’s legs in her hurry to get out. Sharon immediately stood up to follow, with Violet hot on her heels. With the three main girls of the party gone, the group dispersed into separate rooms, and Adore and Ginger rapidly approached Katya.

“Go follow them!” Ginger urged her, shoving her in the direction they had gone. “Go on!”

Figuring that the mean queens had probably gone somewhere a little more private to - well, Katya wasn’t exactly sure what they were going to do - she ascended the staircase as quickly as she could in her heavy black outfit and gingerly pushed open the only door she recognised, Violet’s room. Before she even opened it, she could hear three sets of voices all talking loudly over one another. It didn’t sound good.

“Girls, this is-”

“That made no sense, why did you-”

“Look, you’re not listening to-”

Katya poked her head in, feeling horribly like she was interrupting somewhere she wasn’t welcome. All three pairs of accusing eyes turned towards her.

“Uh… is everything okay?” She tried, and then immediately regretted it. Of course it wasn’t! Why else would Alaska have left the room like that?

Sharon threw her hands up in despair, and nodded towards Alaska.

“She’s the one you should be asking, she’s the one who just left the room rather than kiss me. Kissed Courtney, kissed Willam, quite happily! She says she’s afraid of coming out but she’ll kiss those lesbians in front of the whole school? And not me? It’s fucked up.”

Alaska sighed in frustration. “For fuck’s sake, Sharon!” She spat. “Look, you don’t get it. With those two, I can pass it off as just a dumb drunk blonde getting wild and kissing girls. I can’t do that with you! You’re my girlfriend, and if anybody sees that I have feelings for you-”

“What’s so wrong about having feelings for me?” Sharon cried.

Violet jumped in. “Hey! Shut the fuck up, both of you. Sharon, you know how things are with Alaska, this isn’t new to you. Alaska, that was a dick move. Can we move past this already?”

Sharon glared in Violet’s direction. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, Chachki. First she abandons me on the dance floor to go and speak to those brainless bitches, then she kisses them, and then she runs away from me like I’m some kind of fucking undesirable when it’s our turn! Sometimes I wonder if you even love me at all.” This last part was soft, and directed towards Alaska, who flinched. Katya didn’t blame her, Sharon’s words had cut through her like a knife and she wasn’t even part of this.

“Of course I do, Sharon, you know that I lo-”

Sharon interrupted her before she could finish, sighing. “I know, I know. I’m just being stupid, I guess I’ve had too much to drink. But you know this gets to me, Lasky. You know I don’t like it.”

Alaska swallowed. “I know it does, I’m sorry boo.”

Violet shook her head. “You’re both idiots, and I hate you. But there’s a party waiting downstairs so can we kiss and make up? I need to make sure Nathan is happy and that no one is trashing the place.”

“You can talk about sucking Nathan’s cock all you like, we all know Pearl is going to end up staying the night.” Sharon’s gaze turned in Violet’s direction, and Alaska nodded in agreement. Katya snorted, alerting the mean queens to the fact that she was still stood in the doorway. Sharon’s eyes lit up.

“Hey Kat, is Trixie staying? We don’t mind, there’s plenty of spare bedrooms, None of them are soundproof but that’s okay, because the rest of us will be busy too.” she said, wicked grin firmly back in place as Violet and Alaska laughed.

Katya flushed a deep red colour as she waved off Sharon’s comment. Of course, she’d love nothing more than for Trixie to stay the night, but she was 90% sure Trixie didn’t share her feelings, and she wasn’t ready to admit her own just yet.

“Fuck off all of you. Now I see why Violet hates you so much,” Katya fired back, trying not to let her voice tremble and betray her. None of them seemed fooled, but they dropped the subject.

“Well?” Violet prompted, getting to her feet. “I believe I requested a kiss and make up, and then we return to dominate the party. Are you bitches done having your moment?”

“Almost.” Alaska told her, tugging Sharon towards her and kissing her. Sharon almost stumbled from the sudden contact but stayed firm in her heels, her arms wrapping around Alaska’s waist. Behind them, Violet rolled her eyes, but it didn’t disguise the fondness on her face.

“Gross, I didn’t mean it literally. Now are you done?”

“I think so.”

**********************************

The smell of delicious food cooking was what pulled Katya from her bed and down the stairs into the kitchen, and she was thankful she had made that decision. Alyssa, looking unrealistically gorgeous for a mother of one - or more like three - teen girls at ten in the morning after a party, had happily chatted away to her as she cooked pancakes, seemingly accepting Katya as the newest arrival in her household with no further questions.

“Oh baby trust me, they’ve made more mess than this party, this is nothing… do you want lemon or syrup or what? We have a lot in the cupboards, I’ll have a look.” Alyssa talked smoothly, and it made Katya feel very at ease. If every mom could be like Alyssa, the world would be a very welcoming place.

At the same time that Katya heard the slow, heavy footsteps coming down the stairs, Alyssa cocked her head and turned around.

“Is that my baby girl? It is! Morning, Vi, how did you sleep?” She greeted her.

Perhaps it was last night’s alcohol, but Katya had never seen Violet look so awful. She’d draped her duvet around her and was dragging it along as she walked, her eyes puffy and bloodshot. She joined Katya on one of the high chairs in front of the breakfast bar, a gruff expression on her face.

“Terribly.” She answered her mom’s question, her dark mood a complete contrast to Alyssa’s brightness.

Alyssa frowned as she clocked Violet’s appearance. “Baby, you haven’t even brushed your hair,” she noted, forehead wrinkles deepening as Violet let her head drop to the surface of the breakfast bar.

“There’s no point,” she mumbled, pulling the duvet up and over her so she was completely obscured by the white fabric. Katya and Alyssa shared a look.

“Do you know what happened?” Alyssa mouthed, her concern evident in every feature. Katya bit her lip.

“Hey Vi, wasn’t Pearl here last night?” she ventured, having definitely seen the pair disappear into Violet’s bedroom and slam the door behind them. If Pearl was here, Katya was sure Violet would already be looking flawless.

“She was,” Violet put enough emphasis on the word for it to click in both Alyssa’s and Katya’s brains, and they nodded, expressions fading into sympathy.

“When did she leave honey?” Alyssa probed, moving the pan off of the open flame so she could come over and hug her daughter, moving the duvet back to press a kiss to Violet’s knotted black hair.

“I don’t know.”

“You mean…she just took off? Pearl just left?” Katya was shocked. From what she’d heard she was sure Pearl shared Violet’s feelings, and didn’t seem the kind of girl to just…leave.

“Yeah. I don’t know when, but she was there when I fell asleep, and gone when I woke up. Not everyone has what they have,” Violet muttered, jerking her head in the direction of the stairs, a note of jealousy underpinning her words and surprising Katya. She’d never heard the mean queen talk like this before. Violet always seemed quite happy to play the field, never usually sleeping with the same person more than once.

“Baby, stop that talk. Your time will come too, you’ll find someone. Alaska and Sharon got really lucky, we’ve said that before. When it’s right it’s right baby.”

“What’s right?” Sharon’s voice, as always, appeared before she did, sounding husky and low from sleep. Katya turned to the doorway to see Alaska and Sharon walking in, the taller girl walking with a weird limp. Both seemed to be glowing, and next to the bridge troll Violet had turned into, looked extra put together.

“Hey Vi, you alright?” Sharon added as they walked further into the room, both clocking the duvet clad figure of their friend and sharing a look. Violet raised her head just in time to see Alaska perch gingerly on the edge of a stool, a pained expression flickering over her face.

Violet laughed hollowly.

“I can still walk, so that’s something.” She joked mirthlessly.

Alaska bit her lip and winced as she shifted. “Did something happen?”

“To you, clearly. To me, no.” Violet answered her shortly.

Sharon sat down and crossed her arms over her chest. “Cut the shit, Violet. Instead of snapping at us why don’t you actually talk about whatever has turned you into a bitch this morning?”

Katya braced herself for Violet to go mad, but to her surprise she didn’t. The girl just let out a long sigh and summed up what she’d told Katya and Alyssa in as few words as she could possibly manage.

“Pearl was here, and then she wasn’t. Whilst I was asleep, too.” She spat.

Sharon and Alaska exchanged wide-eyed glances. “Shit,” Alaska cursed. “That’s… not good.”

Violet nodded. “You’re good with words this morning, Alaska.”

“Leave me alone, my brain isn’t working yet. I’m sorry, Vi. That sucks.”

Violet snorted. “Yeah, like you’d know anything about that.” The words escaped Violet’s mouth before she could stop them, hanging in the air between the three friends. There was a beat of silence before Violet sighed, letting her head bang down once more onto the cold granite surface. “I’m sorry guys, I’m doing it again.”

Alaska shook her head, gently shifting her stool so she could drape an arm over Violet’s duvet encased body and hug her friend. “Don’t be sorry Vi, the last thing you needed this morning was to see us like this.”

“Fuckin’ whores.”

Sharon snorted, and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you didn’t get laid before she left Chachki. I’d wager you’re finding it hard to walk this morning too.”

“Fuck off Needles, not everyone fucks like a goddamn animal. Some of us can have good sex without the morning after pain.”

“Right!” Alyssa’s voice cut across the pair before they could start bickering. “We’ve got pancakes, we’ve got bacon, we’ve got syrup, we’ve got everything. Stop that talk now, and start soaking up those hangovers.”

She pushed four plates laden with food towards the girls, who grinned and took them. Katya breathed in the scent deeply, appreciating every second of it. Alyssa’s cooking looked and smelled divine.

“The pain is part of the fun.” Sharon continued, before quickly shoving a forkful of syrup laden pancakes into her mouth.

“Sharon!” Alyssa called, not bothering to turn around.

Sharon said something that sounded like ‘sorry Alyssa!’ but it was impossible to tell through her muffled voice. Violet flicked her arm and laughed.

“Is that what Alaska thinks?” She teased.

Katya turned to Alaska, who had long since fallen quiet. She was chewing silently, her face blushing a deep crimson.

“Disgusting.” Violet shook her head, returning to her breakfast. “I was gonna complain about the amount of grease in this, but it seems like you two need it after that workout.”

Alyssa turned round and made eye-contact with an entirely perplexed Katya. “Are they always like this?” Katya asked incredulously.

The older woman nodded. “They are, baby. You learn to get used to it after a while.”

“I think I’m done.” Katya pushed the plate away from her. “I could get used to a breakfast like that every morning.”

Violet chuckled. “Oh, don’t say that. You’ll end up like Sharon.”

The girl in question let her fork clatter against the plate as her head whipped around to look at them. “And what the fuck is that supposed to mean, Miss Chachki? What exactly are you implying?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Violet said slyly. “I just want to let you know I’ve got no homework to do today if you need any of your clothes letting out.”

Sharon made a strangled noise at Violet’s words, her eyes narrowing. “Are you calling me fat?”

“Don’t put words into my mouth, Needles, I don’t want the extra calories. I’m not a second helping kind of person, unlike yourself,” Violet countered with a laugh. Alaska looked ready to strangle the both of them, and Sharon looked affronted, her hands flying to her middle.

“You bitch! I’m beautiful, fuck you. Alaska, tell her I’m not fat.” She gasped, her mouth hanging wide open.

Katya giggled as Alaska held her hands up in surrender. “I’m not getting involved.”

“She basically just agreed with me. I’ll be sure to tailor that skirt in time for Christmas in a few months.” Violet smiled sweetly at Sharon, who still hadn’t closed her mouth.

“You know what-” She started, but was interrupted by Katya’s phone, the ringtone blaring loudly from her pocket.

“I’ll, uh-” She took it out and looked at the caller ID. “I’ll let you two fight it out. I gotta take this.”

Alaska buried her head in her hands as Katya escaped, choking back a laugh as Sharon passionately defended herself once again.

“Hello?” Katya pressed the phone to her ear as she bounded up the stairs two at a time. “Adore?”

“And Ginger bitch, don’t forget about me.”

Katya frowned as the second voice came through the line, and she pushed open the door to the room she was staying in with her foot.

“Both of you?” She’d never done this before, and was slightly flummoxed by the possibility of being able to talk to more than one person at a time. Adore’s witchy cackle sounded down the phone.

“Magic, right?” Katya could hear the smile in her voice as the Russian flopped onto the bed, combing her hair through with her free hand.

“What do you two want?”

“Are you still at Violet’s?”

“Yeah, I think we’re going shopping or something this afternoon.”

Adore snorted. “I thought so, I could hear Sharon’s loud mouth going off about something when you answered. Does she ever fucking shut up?”

“But now we’ve got the dirt on them-” Ginger chimed in now “-it won’t be much longer until you can stop hanging out with them. Sharon and Alaska, the two biggest lesbians in that hell hole. I’m still in shock.”

“I don’t know how we never thought of that possibility, that they were fucking each other all along.”

Ginger and Adore carried on bitching about the three, Katya listening to them with a heavy heart. All she could picture in her mind was the fear on Alaska’s face when she’d bolted to Violet’s bedroom to avoid outing herself the night before. And now Katya was giving the enemies the ammunition to do just that. There was a small part of Katya that hated herself for what she was doing. It didn’t seem right to be causing that kind of pain. But then again, hadn’t the Mean Queens caused a similar type of pain to Adore and Ginger?

“Katya? Katya? Are you even listening?” Came Adore’s irritated voice.

“Huh, what?” Katya shook herself out of her thoughts. “Sorry, say that again?”

“Is there anything else you know? C’mon, stay with the programme. We need this shit if we’re going to take them down, it’s not enough to just know they’re dating.”

Katya swallowed hard. This felt like a line, and if she crossed over it there was no going back. Eventually, Sharon, Alaska, and Violet would know what she had done. Katya bit her lip, and spoke before she could talk herself out of it.

“I don’t know too much, but they’ve been dating for nearly a year, their anniversary is around Christmas. Violet keeps going on about how Sharon wanted Alaska for three years before that. Uh- I think they’ve got a really good sex life. Like, they walked into the kitchen this morning and they still had the after sex glow and Alaska could barely walk. It was weird. And Violet totally got stood up last night. Pearl was meant to stay, but did a runner when Violet fell asleep.” Katya rambled, not entirely sure what Adore and Ginger wanted, but telling them what she thought was significant anyway.

“That’s perfect, all of it.” Ginger breathed. Katya could practically see her rubbing her hands together in delight.

Adore cackled again. “I think we’ve got what we need. Their anniversary is Christmas, right? Well…maybe we’ve found our date.”

Katya was about to object, not wanting to be completely cruel, when Alaska’s voice sounded up the stairs.

“Kat? Are you ready? We’re just brushing the swamp troll’s hair and then we’re going out!”

“Are you being summoned by the grand high bitch, the lesbian girlfriend, or the bitchy best friend?” Adore and Ginger laughed, Katya forcing herself to join in.

“Alaska’s calling, I’ve got to go,” she told them, trying not to let how shitty she was beginning to feel seep into her voice.

“Bitch, we’re going to have a planning session this week, you have to come over. Now we’ve got our dirt, we can get the plans finalised. Anyway, good luck with those bitches. We’ll see you tomorrow, if you’re still alive.”

Katya ended the call and stood up, taking a deep breath and dusting off her clothes. On the way out of the room, she caught sight of a picture in a sparkly pink frame, that clearly would have belonged to a young teen. The picture showed three girls of about thirteen; one tall and skinny, one shorter and gap-toothed, grinning up at the camera, and one laughing along with them. Alaska, Sharon and Violet, much younger and more fresh-faced. Katya traced the outline of each girl, her heart twisting at the sight of their arms linked over each other’s shoulders, and she headed down the steps to meet them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which the Mean Queens and Katya go shopping, everyone gets drunk (again), and there's a confrontation...

Yet another experience that Katya had never expected to be quite so enjoyable and entertaining was shopping with the mean queens. Each of them was slightly hungover from the night before, but mostly themselves as they piled into Alaska’s car and sang loudly, leaving the extravagant neighbourhood behind and making their way to the mall. Katya could almost push the memory of seeing the terrified Alaska the night before out of her head as she honked along loudly with the more tuneful mean queens. In fact, Katya was impressed by their singing prowess, having had no idea Alaska could actually sing, Sharon wasn’t much worse, and even Violet could carry a tune. Katya felt like she was definitely lowering the calibre of singing with her own tuneless screech, but she was having so much fun she couldn’t bring herself to care. They even sang as they walked through each shop, which certainly earned them a few weird stares - although most of the stares were clearly marvelling at the girls rather than judging Katya’s voice.

“-two to make a thing go ri- oh! That’s so pretty, fuck.” Sharon stopped singing and strayed from their group, walking over to one of the nearby displays.

Katya turned to look at where she was headed when Violet frowned, confused, and walked in Sharon’s direction. Curious, Alaska and Katya followed them.

“Shaz, there’s literally nothing there.” Violet stated, her eyebrow quirked. Sharon shoved her.

“Fuck off. Look at that, it’s beautiful.” She stroked the lace edging of a black lingerie set in front of her, deadly serious about buying it.

Violet scoffed. “You cannot seriously justify spending -” She looked at the price tag. “-forty dollars on a wisp of lace that will barely cover your fat ass, if they even do your size, and will remain on your body for all of ten minutes before it rips. You can’t.”

“Fuck you Chachki! Forty dollars is but a small price to pay to look bomb, and of course they do my fucking size. Lask, tell her how good my ass would look in that. You love my ass.”

Alaska shook her head and held her hands up, backing away from the bickering pair. She was clearly used to this kind of debate, and wanted nothing to do with it. Katya’s eyes flicked between the three, dancing between humour and genuine concern.

“I’m not getting involved in this. I have made that mistake one too many times. I’m staying out of it.” She stated firmly.

“Hear that, Shaz?” Violet teased, doing her best to look innocent. “She basically agreed with me. Your own girlfriend of nearly a year just agreed with me. That’s… that’s sad. Don’t go off and eat your feelings, will you?”

Katya had to bite her tongue to stop herself from laughing at Sharon’s face. It was the perfect picture of an outraged face, her expression could have been lifted straight from the pages of any decent comic book.

“You eat just as much as I do, you pig. We all love Alyssa’s cooking.”

“Yeah, but you’re the only one who goes back for seconds, and I’m not saying that’s obvious, but I’m not not saying it’s obvious.”

Sharon turned to jab Alaska, her eyebrows knitting together as she attempted to attract the blonde’s attention. She did her best to ignore her, but it was virtually impossible to ignore her persistence.

“Alaska! Make her be nice to me, defend me! You’re supposed to defend me, it’s your job. I can’t fight that demon on my own all of the time!” Sharon insisted, pointing at Violet. She made eye contact with Katya and grinned, clearly impressed with herself.

Alaska huffed loudly. “I hate you two. I honestly do. I’m leaving you both in the lost children area until I’m done shopping. And I’m not passing any comments.”

Violet laced her fingers together and nodded, her behaviour mocking that of a psychiatrist listening to somebody spilling their thoughts. “Good choice, Lask. Avoid telling her she’s fat so she doesn’t get upset, and avoid looking like you’re agreeing with me. You’re smarter than they give you credit for.”

Sharon stamped her foot in frustration. “I hate you!” She yelled out, half irritated, half laughing in spite of herself. She flipped her middle finger at Violet and turned back to face the lingerie she wanted, admiring it.

“I’m so tempted to buy it. I really am. I mean, what’s forty dollars?”

Violet was about to open her mouth to interject once more when Katya’s face lit up, and she turned to face the mean queens with the biggest grin on her face.

“If Sharon is allowed to buy scraps of lace for forty dollars, I’m allowed to buy that beautiful dress we saw back there,” she told them decisively, gesturing over her shoulder to another section of the shop. All three of the girls had instantly shot her down when she had noticed the outfit, dragging her away as quickly as they could and shaking their heads.

“If I’ve learned anything from the Halloween fiasco, it’s that Katya is not allowed to shop for herself. Ever.” Violet shuddered dramatically, and Katya flicked her arm.

“My Halloween costume was more Halloween than your Pearl-seducing gear, I’ll say that.” Katya defended herself, giggling. Sharon started to laugh, clapping her hands together.

“Ooh, she’s got you there! Even I had a Halloween costume, just a slutty one. You were on a mission to bed Pearl or Nathan - or maybe both, I don’t know.”

Violet flushed a deep red at Sharon’s words, and the other girl’s eyes widened.

“Wait, did you bed them both?” Sharon asked, familiar grin beginning to play around the edges of her mouth, a mischievous glint in her eye. Violet quickly shook her head.

“Not that time.”

“Maybe that’s why Pearl left so early,” Sharon mock sighed, shaking her head, secretly thrilled she could get Violet back for the earlier fat comments.

“Right, that’s it,” Alaska interjected before Violet could spit out a retort, wearisome look on her face. “I have too little caffeine in my system to be able to deal with you two idiots, the shopping trip is cancelled until we’ve been to the cafe.”

“Now that is a good decision.” Sharon approved, and then paused. “I’ll meet you three there. I’m fucking buying it.”

The remaining mean queens led Katya to a small cafe just around the corner, that they promised had great drinks and was rarely frequented by disgusting people. Katya didn’t really care what kind of people were inside the building anyway, as the moment the heady coffee scent filled her nostrils, she was completely sold. Alaska pulled out a chair and threw herself onto it, gesturing at Katya to do the same.

“Violet, girl, will you grab an extra chair? There’s only three here.” She ordered lazily, pointing one long nail at an empty table close by.

Violet laughed. “I’ll grab a high chair, since Sharon wants to act like a child so much.”

“Talking of Sharon,” Alaska interjected, her eyes fixed on the girl in question who had just arrived and was standing in line to order drinks. “I’m going to be with Willam and Courtney tonight, and maybe for a few nights, for Sharon’s birthday. I want to record a few covers for her, but she can’t know what I’m doing. Will you two keep her sane while I’m not around?”

Katya and Violet awwed simultaneously, before laughing and nodding. 

“Sure, we’ll keep your secret,” Katya told her, before Alaska quickly hushed her just in time for Sharon to come over and sit down, crowing triumphantly.

“It fits, so you can shove my fist inside your asshole, Vi.” She said sweetly, blowing a kiss. “I’m modelling this later. It’s hot.”

“I still want to buy that dress, Trixie would love it,” Katya chimed in, not willing to let the subject drop. She honestly didn’t think that she’d find anything as amazing even if she searched every damn shop in the mall. The mean queens laughed and shook their heads at her.

“Eh, it’s your funeral,” Violet shrugged, glancing over at Sharon and Alaska who had somehow managed to move their chairs so close together they were practically sitting on each other’s laps. “Sharon wore that awful, hideous skirt to that Valentine’s date and Alaska is still dating her.”

Sharon burst into unexpectedly loud cackling. “That was a beautiful skirt! It was a terrible date, but a beautiful skirt and it has nothing to do with why the date was terrible. Or Alaska loving me. She loves me regardless.”

Alaska nodded and leaned over to rest her head on Sharon’s shoulder. “That was such a bad date. Could it have been more chaotic?”

Katya’s first thought was that this sounded like an interesting story that she wanted to hear. Her second was yes, intel. This was definitely something that would only be shared between the elite group of friends, and so could definitely be classified as insider information. She leaned forwards in her chair.

“I gotta hear this one. How do you manage to have a bad Valentine’s date? You two seem like the epitome of unmarried married couples.”

Alaska laughed. “Oh, we are. But we hadn’t been dating long and we weren’t really used to… the way others react, let’s say that. Are you telling this or am I?”

Sharon twisted her head to kiss Alaska’s cheek. “You or me. I don’t mind, pumpkin.”

“Fine, I will.” Alaska decided. “Sharon planned for us to go out and have this lovely time, but it didn’t exactly go as… smoothly as she expected it to.”

“Woah, hold on. It’s not my fault it went wrong!” Sharon jumped in, holding out her hands as if to defend herself.

Alaska giggled and smacked her fingers away. “I know it wasn’t! Let me tell the story, shut up.”

Violet shook her head. “These two are literally the worst. Never ask for a story from them, because Sharon can’t ever shut her big mouth and Alaska is terrible at telling stories.”

“Ssh!” Alaska stopped her. “I’m telling it, I’m telling it. Anyway, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, Sharon had booked this expensive dinner, and we were gonna go out and then have this meal and it was going to be super cute, but it’s us. So it didn’t happen like that.”

**************************************************

Alaska’s screechy laughter could be heard from all the way down the long street that Sharon and herself had just danced their way down, giggling and singing bits of songs as they clung onto one another. Sharon kept grabbing Alaska to sing in her face, and she couldn’t resist singing the next line, which inevitably ended with the two of them dissolving into giggles.

“Creature of the night!” Alaska ended with a flourish, grinning as Sharon started to cheer and clap. If there were clouds gathering above their heads, neither of them had noticed.

“I would have asked you to go on a date with me way earlier if I’d have known you’d take me to see Rocky Horror for Valentine’s,” Alaska joked, leaning close to press a kiss onto Sharon’s cheek.

“To be honest, I would have asked you sooner if I knew you’d scream at the tickets. Glad you enjoyed the show, pumpkin.” Sharon smiled at her, before running a hand through her hair and straightening her skirt.

Alaska grinned, still running on a post show high as she snaked an arm around Sharon’s waist and teetered down the street on her ridiculous heels.

“I didn’t scream, I was just…excited. Anyway, I’m surprised they even let us in with that ridiculous skirt of yours.”

“Anything goes at Rocky,” Sharon shrugged, her eyes twinkling with joy as the pair arrived outside of the restaurant. Alaska peered up at it, her brow crinkling.

“This looks awfully fancy, are you sure I’m dressed for this?” she asked, fussing with her hair and shirt. Sharon grabbed hold of her hands to keep them still, and looked Alaska dead in the eye.

“You look gorgeous. Your hair is shiny and your eyes are pretty, your legs are out and your tits and ass look great. What more could they ask for?” Sharon quipped, taking hold of Alaska’s hand and pushing open the door.

“A little bit of class, perhaps?” Alaska mumbled, tripping up the steps after Sharon, who paused and glanced back at her girlfriend, grinning.

“Honey, I put the ass in class. C’mon, I’m starved.”

Alaska walked into the restaurant after Sharon, letting the door bang shut behind them as she took in the impressive decor and delicious scents wafting from the kitchen.

“How the fuck did you afford this place? It’s beautiful.” She marvelled, looking around.

Sharon led her up to the tall black podium where one of the waiters stood and squeezed her hand, looking like even she couldn’t quite believe the expenses she’d gone to.

“I had a little help from Alyssa, she was more than happy to suggest this place. And besides, it’s only the best for you. This day is about us.”

Alaska tried to hold back the soft sigh that threatened to escape from her, her knees going weak. It wasn’t often that Sharon was openly sweet and sentimental - usually it was something she had to read between the lines to find - and moments like those always made her melt.

“Can I help you?” The waiter asked. He was impeccably dressed, eyeing the two of them with a hint of suspicion.

“Hi, we have a booking under Needles?” Sharon answered, putting on her best ‘professional’ voice. “Seven thirty, table for two?”

The waiter scanned his list, lips pursed in what could only be described as an expression of distaste. Alaska could feel her chest pounding, her palms beginning to grow clammy as she stood and waited. She knew how to recognise behaviour like that from a mile off, and Sharon sent her a knowing glance, squeezing her hand once again. She did her best to relax.

“For tonight?” He pressed.

Sharon nodded. “Yes, I made the reservation two weeks ago.”

It was clear to Alaska that Sharon was beginning to get frustrated now, the waiter taking his sweet time looking through all the names. He looked down at his monitor, up at the two of them, and then set his pen down on the podium and regarded them.

“I’m sorry, I can’t give you a table.” He said finally, sounding almost bored.

Sharon raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me? Is there a reason for this? I have a reservation for tonight.”

Alaska closed her eyes. This was not happening. This could not be happening. She had known it was a possibility, and guessed it would happen eventually, but part of her thought that the world she lived in was a little more advanced than that. Her heart started to sink.

“We don’t serve couples such as yourselves.”

Alaska felt her knees nearly give out from underneath her as the waiter spoke those few devastating words in a deadpan voice, clearly wanting to get the pair out of his restaurant so he could serve the couple behind them. Beside her, she felt Sharon bristle, and knew the raven haired girl was squaring for a fight.

“What do you mean by that?” Sharon challenged, her voice cold and words hard. Alaska felt tears spring to her eyes as she looked around the room, imagining everyone staring at them and talking about them.

Alaska barely heard the verbal exchange happening between the waiter and Sharon, too busy wondering how many people in that room knew them personally, and could now ruin their lives with the information they had. If it hadn’t been clear to the people situated in the room beforehand that they were a couple, and not just friends, the rising tone of Sharon’s voice and the defensive anger in the waiter’s left nothing to the imagination. Feeling her chest tighten, Alaska slipped a sweaty hand into Sharon’s and tugged at it to get her to move and leave the restaurant, not trusting herself to be able to speak without bursting into tears.

Sharon didn’t feel it, more intent on teaching the ignorant bastard in front of her a lesson. She usually prided herself on being in tune with Alaska’s feelings, but she was blinded by the anger coursing round her body that such ignorance and prejudice still existed, when all they’d wanted to do was sit down, eat some delicious food, and spend a lot of money in the process.

“If we were just two friends coming in for a meal, you’d have no problem letting us sit down and eat. Why is it different?” Sharon was more frustrated than anything at this point. It wasn’t the first time she’d come across such ignorance, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last, and she was ready to fight and stand up for her relationship.

“We have our clientele to think about, ma’am. We don’t want any complaints about them being uncomfortable,” came the swift reply from the waiter, his eyes darting around to try and find the manager of the establishment.

***********************************************************

“…and that’s when I ran out of the restaurant,” Alaska admitted with a rueful grin, Sharon kissing her on the cheek. They were practically sat on each other’s laps at this point, having become more and more intertwined throughout the story.

“Ran out of the restaurant in tears because I was a bad girlfriend and yelled at the waiter,” Sharon interjected, laughing. At the time it had been the worst situation either of them had found themselves in, but time was a healer, and both found it hilarious now.

Katya must have looked shocked, because Sharon rushed to reassure her. “Don’t worry, it didn’t end too badly. When we got outside it was pouring down with rain, both of our phones were dead and Alyssa had dropped us off at the show, so we had to run all the way home. In the rain. And you’d better believe we sang the entire way.”

“And kissed.” Alaska shrugged. “Supposedly every girl dreams of having a Notebook moment, right?”

Violet rolled her eyes and laughed. “You had your Notebook moment whilst I was sitting and watching The Notebook with mom. The two of them just burst through the door, soaking wet and giggling and leaving puddles in the kitchen. We ended up getting take out for them.”

Sharon grinned. “Not a bad Valentine’s, but not the best. At least it ended in cuddling on the couch. We need to work on making sure next year doesn’t go so badly. You’re in charge this time.”

“Never let Sharon plan a date.” Violet affirmed. “I still think it was the skirt, though. No one wearing an Amanda Lepore skirt should be allowed anywhere that serves caviar to those rich freaks.”

“You are one of those rich freaks.” Sharon told her, her eyebrow quirked upwards.

“And I don’t want you to wear that skirt around me!” Violet laughed.

Thankfully, before Sharon could continue the pointless argument, the caller ID lit up on Alaska’s phone, a picture of Willam and Alaska with their faces grinning together appearing on the screen. Alaska smiled apologetically as she answered, covering the speaker in case any of them heard what was being said.

“Hieee! It’s free early? Oh no, you’re not interrupting anything. That’s great. That works perfectly. We can work on both - yeah. Okay, see you in a minute!”

Alaska ended the call with a tap of her nail, and looked up to meet the questioning look of all three girls. Well, mock questioning in Katya and Violet’s case, they’d both already worked out what Alaska’s one sided conversation was about.

“I’ve got to go see Will and Court,” she told them, her apologetic tone mostly directed towards Sharon as she gathered her bag and made sure she had everything. “I’ll see you back at Vi’s later on, I don’t know what time I’ll be home,” Alaska added, pecking Sharon on the lips. Before the girl could react, Alaska was already halfway out of the cafe, intent on looking at something on her phone screen.

Sharon was left staring after her girlfriend, mouth dropped halfway open in shock. Alaska never left abruptly like that in the middle of coffee, especially not without giving her a good explanation. Sharon wasn’t sure what the feeling in her chest was, but she was sure that she didn’t like it.

“I know it’s probably out of line and creepy if I say this, but I really hate when she hangs out with those two.” Sharon muttered, her gaze still focused on where Alaska had just left before moving back to the group. “They’re both pretty, and talented, and can sing, and they’re skinny blondes, and they make her laugh. I don’t trust Courtney. I definitely don’t trust Willam. I trust Alaska, but I guess I just get jealous.”

Katya expected Violet to make a joke, but to her surprise, the dark-haired girl appeared understanding. She rested one manicured hand on Sharon’s arm before getting to her feet, prompting Sharon and Katya to do the same.

“Everyone gets jealous. Lasky would never get too brainwashed by those two, you’re still her main priority.” Violet said, and then laughed a little. “Besides, we have alcohol at home. We can drink until you eventually drink more than either of us combined and fall asleep.”

“That sounds like a great evening.” Sharon mused. “Katya, you up for it?”

Katya nodded.

***********************************************************************

It was nearing midnight, and all three girls had ended up draped over one another on Violet’s bed, without really realising how they’d gotten there. Sharon was sat up against the headboard, favourite mug filled with vodka and lemonade in one hand, gesticulating with the other as she spoke. Violet was propped up against her legs, hugging them gently with one arm as she let her eyes close, more tired than she’d realised. Katya had her head in Violet’s lap and was braiding her hair, having given up on the drinks about three vodkas ago, after which she’d gone to the toilet and nearly sat down without pulling her underwear off.

“-and so I told del taco I wasn’t going to end up in fucking prison, and then me and Alyssa went off at her in detention. ‘S a good feeling, yelling at her. She’s just one of those people that needs yelling at, y’know?” Sharon slurred, waving her drink around to emphasise her point.

“I don’t think I’ve had her as a teacher yet,” Katya mused, twisting bits of curly blonde hair around each other. Both Sharon and Violet screwed up their faces in identical disgust.

“Trust us, you don’t ever want to have her. She’s got it out for all three of us, especially Shaz.”

Sharon set her drink down. “She can fucking rag on me all she likes, as long as she leaves Alaska alone.”

She paused, and then her face lit up. “Alaska! I need to call her, I miss her. Where’s my phone?”

Violet handed it to her, blinking rapidly to keep herself awake. “I was taking pictures on it because your camera is better. Send me the good ones.”

“I can’t send nothing.” Sharon told her, and then pressed the phone to her ear after she dialled. “Come on, Lasky.”

Her finger must have slipped - which didn’t surprise Katya, owing to the amount that Sharon had drank - because Alaska’s voice blared through the speaker, on full volume.

“Hieeeeeee! Oh, Sharon! It’s Sharon, my girlfrieeeeend! How are you, boo?” Alaska greeted her. Judging by the sound of her voice, Alaska was inebriated too. Katya noticed Violet pressing record on her phone, giggling and putting a finger to her lips as she listened to the encounter.

“I love you so much, pumpkin. I wanted to tell you because I never do and I really should because you’re so beautiful and I don’t even know if you see that but I do and getting to see you everyday and be your girlfriend is just the best, it’s the best thing ever. I’m so lucky to have you. I really love you.” Sharon was swaying slightly as she spoke, the hand that still held her drink waving around so wildly Katya was convinced she was going to end up wearing the sticky beverage.

“I love you soo much,” Alaska’s voice sounded through the phone, slightly muffled, the words obviously slurred. Sharon’s face split into a grin as she clutched the phone tightly to her ear. “I love you I love you I never will love nobody else. You’re my person.”

The two kept rambling on at each other, tripping over their words in their haste to get them out. Katya looked down at her own phone, noticing the texts that had flashed up onto the screen, and took the moment of distraction to slip away. Violet was still busily recording the phone call, nodding in Katya’s direction as she detangled herself from the knot they were in and padded across the landing to a random spare room. Somewhere neither of the girls could hear her.

The text simply read ‘Call us’ and the moment Katya opened it, Ginger rang. Both Adore’s voice and Ginger’s voice came through as she put the phone to her ear, fumbling a little as she realized she may have drank a bit more than she’d bargained for.

“Hey, Katya. Got a minute?” Ginger asked her. 

Katya giggled. “Got plenty of them. How many minutes are in forever? I probably won’t live forever, but I have a lot of minutes. Are you calling to talk about minutes?”

Adore butted in. “No, we’re calling to talk about the mean queens, obviously. We need to meet up again soon, don’t we have math together tomorrow?”

As much as Katya tried to remember, her mind was fuzzy. “Probably. Why do we have to talk about them again? I know why why, but like, why? They’re nice. They get worried about things just like we do. They’re normal girls - well, a bit weird, but nice. Why is this a thing again?”

One of them scoffed, and Ginger spoke. “Kat, are you drunk?”

Katya’s silence told them enough.

“So you don’t know what you’re saying. It’s hard enough for you to say what you mean about them in English without being drunk. They’re awful, remember? Think of everything they’ve done!”

It wasn’t like Katya really knew what they’d done. They were mean, though. That was what she knew. Those girls were mean, nasty creatures, even if they were rambling down the phone about being in love. Behind that exterior, they were mean. Mean queens. They deserved what they were going to get.

“Y-Yeah.” Katya mumbled, frowning. “They’re awful. I forgot.”

“No worries,” Adore dismissed her. “We can talk in math tomorrow, make real plans and share more details. Things are gonna go from bad to brilliant, Katya. Just wait.”

“Bad to brilliant,” Katya repeated, trying to hammer home Adore’s mantra into her head so she could squash the little niggling feeling that what she was doing wasn’t the right thing to do. The Mean Queens were mean, and deserved to be shown that. Just because they seemed kind, and funny, and sweet, and loving didn’t mean that they were.

Katya knew that, and now she had to prove that. Adore and Ginger were counting on her.

*********************************

Like any other situation, Katya heard the Mean Queens before she saw them. As she waited outside the math classroom for Adore and Ginger, she heard a loud voice, a cackle, and a screechy laugh which soon materialized into the idolized girls walking down the corridor. Adore and Ginger were walking at the opposite end of the corridor, towards Katya and the approaching Mean Queens, and Katya knew instantly that there was going to be some kind of confrontation.

It was like she had some weird radar that was constantly tuned into the vibe between the Mean Queens and her other two friends, and only she could see the impending doom. Katya tensed, her eyes flitting between both groups, noticing the way Sharon and Violet’s eyes lit up as they nudged each other, and the way Adore and Ginger shrank into each other, their eyes steely but their body language afraid.

“Hey Vi,” Sharon started, her clear voice carrying above the chatter of the rest of the students.

“Yes Sharon?” Violet replied, shit eating grin in place as the girls came to a halt in perfect formation, all three looking flawless in the way that only they knew how. Alaska wiggled her fingers at Katya, clearly wanting the girl to join them.

Katya stayed where she was, frozen to the spot and not willing to pick a side.

“Here comes Beauty and the Beast,” Sharon continued, gesturing with a long, black fingernail in Adore and Ginger’s direction. The two in question held their ground, clearly sensing there was more to come and not wanting to back down or move away. It was their funeral, Katya supposed.

Violet snorted. “Where the fuck is Beauty, you moron?”

Sharon and Alaska cackled, Violet soon joining in. It was a chilling sound, completely unlike their normal laughter that was light and filled with the delights of life. This was cold and pointed, and very clearly intended to mock Adore and Ginger. If Katya hadn’t been so invested in both groups, she’d have been almost impressed at the way all three Mean Queens could flip a switch and become a cold hearted bitch.

“I didn’t think that one through,” Sharon sighed, Alaska still laughing at her side, very carefully keeping the right distance between them. Close enough so that they were very clearly friends, far enough away to show they were nothing but friends. “Much like Adore and this outfit.”

Sharon delivered the blow in a voice icy enough to freeze water, the razor sharp words cutting with practised precision. Alaska grinned, gesturing towards Ginger. A swift look of complete fear flitted across the short girl’s face, before it settled back into her mask.

“Much like Ginger and not shaving her pubes,” Alaska’s voice was warm and filled with humour, a complete contrast to Sharon’s, but her words were just as devastating.

The three queens collapsed into laughter, tears almost falling, the other students around them who had seen and heard the encounter joining in. Katya felt a vice grip her heart as she took in the scene in front of her.

It was brutal. The laughter was joyous, but very clearly aimed at Adore and Ginger, designed to hurt them rather than be a celebration of a fun moment. Katya had never seen or heard anything like it. She was beginning to really realise why Adore and Ginger wanted to bring the girls down.

“Anyone round here got a cigarette? No? Shit, I wanted to bum a smoke before Del Rio’s class. Guess not. Come on ladies, let’s go.”

The three Mean Queens strutted past Adore and Ginger, who moved automatically out of their way to save their crimson faces from flushing any redder. Not long after the girls had turned a corner, Mrs Dujour poked her head out from behind the door of the maths classroom and beckoned them all inside. Katya was glad to escape from the corridor, her heart racing with a mixture of fear, shock and sorrow as Adore and Ginger sat either side of her.

“The sooner we end them, the better for us all,” Adore muttered, hot tears burning at the edges of her eyes. Ginger nodded in agreement.

All Katya could do was sit there, paralyzed with fear about what was going to happen next.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Katya bags herself a date, and the Mean Queens make her over

The three couldn’t really start their planning properly until Mrs Dujour had started the class and given out the exercise for the day, and so they sat in a tense silence, each one lost in their own thoughts. Katya couldn’t take her mind off of the altercation that had occurred outside of the room, couldn’t push the image of Adore and Ginger’s mortified faces out of her mind, couldn’t forget the sound of the mocking laughter that had started with the Mean Queens and continued around the hall until there was nowhere to hide from the hyena-like cackles. It was impossible for Katya to reconcile the public front of the Mean Queens with the private people that she knew, the ones that laughed and jokingly argued like normal teenagers did.

“Katya, are you even listening to us?” Adore’s exasperated voice sounded in her ear and jolted Katya from her thoughts.

“Huh?” she said, focusing back on her two friends who were sat opposite her, Adore’s expression now one of anger, although Ginger still looked embarrassed. Katya didn’t blame her, from what she’d heard the running joke of Ginger and her minj had been going on for years now. Adore rolled her eyes at the Russian.

“Focus, c’mon. This is important, this is our chance to give them a taste of their own medicine. You saw what those bitches did outside! They can’t be allowed to do that anymore!” Adore’s eyes flashed, and Ginger nodded in agreement.

“Do you have any more information for us?” Ginger asked urgently, a weird note to her voice that Katya didn’t want to analyse too closely, knowing the hurt that lay deep beneath Ginger’s defiant exterior.

“Uh,” Katya broke off, thinking back to the night before and trying to remember what had happened through the vodka fuzz that coated her memories. “Oh, wait! Yes!”

“Are you going to tell us or just get excited?” Adore asked snarkily. Katya’s face flushed bright red as she sensed the hidden accusation under the words.

“I went shopping with them yesterday,” Katya started, before launching into the story of the day before, explaining to Adore and Ginger how they’d gone shopping and Sharon had bought lingerie (Adore snorted and mouthed “slut” under her breath), how the mean queens had told her the story of the disastrous Valentine’s Day date, what Alaska was doing for Sharon’s birthday and the weird jealousy Sharon had of Willam and Courtney, before ending with how Sharon had drunk-dialled Alaska and the two had professed their undying love for each other (“Violet has the footage, huh?” was Ginger’s reaction to that one). When Katya had finally finished telling them everything she knew, she sat back and watched how Adore and Ginger’s faces had morphed from the embarrassment of being called out in the corridor, to absolute glee now they had concrete blackmail against the Mean Queens.

Katya tried to ignore the pang in her heart as the thought of what the two friends might do with that knowledge struck her. She couldn’t bear seeing them so upset, but on the other side of it all, the consequences on the Mean Queens would be catastrophic. Something didn’t feel right about hurting the three of them for the satisfaction of two.

“Kat, this is important. Can you get some dates for us? Like, when specifically their anniversary is. Anything else you think might be important. This is gonna happen sooner than you think, everything is falling into place.” Adore said, sounding kind. “I wanted to thank you, actually. You’ve done so much for us, and I know it must be awful having to hang out with those bitches, so thanks for doing this. It really means a lot. You’re gonna help a lot of people.”

Ginger reached over to place an affectionate hand on her arm. “You said it, Adore. We could never do this without you. You’re a driving force in this.”

Perhaps their words were meant to be a comfort, but each one hit Katya like a punch to the gut. She was a front-runner in this, a ‘driving force’ as Ginger had said in what was essentially revenge on the Mean Queens. The thought made her stomach twist into knots. Luckily, Mrs Dujour addressed the class before Katya had to fake a response.

“Peer assessing now, find a partner and swap work with them so you can see how you’ve done.”

Katya’s eyes searched around, already seeing Adore shift towards Ginger and away from her, looking for someone who would work with her. She was unbelievably thankful to spot a pair of Barbie pink lips smiling at her, thick lashes blinking in her direction, and a manicured hand waving her over. Filled with relief, Katya slipped out of her chair to join Trixie, her heart lightening at the sight of her.

“Tracey Martel!” Katya grinned wolfishly at the girl as she pulled out the empty chair next to her and sat down, her empty notepad thunking onto the desk in front of her. Trixie raised a disdainful eyebrow, and gestured down at the book.

“I see you’ve been busy.” Her sarcastic tone was music to Katya’s ears, who couldn’t stop grinning like some kind of stupid chesire cat.

“I didn’t go to school for math,” Katya drawled, her eyes landing on perfect rows of perfect maths equations that lined the perfect paper of Trixie’s perfect pink notepad. Trixie just laughed, and handed Katya a pen out of the pencil case sat on the desk in front of her.

“You didn’t go to school for English either, did you? My name is Trixie. Copy down the answers before Dujour comes over, she looks nice but she’s a fan of handing out detentions like they’re candy,” Trixie told her warmly.

Katya accepted the pen and quickly scrawled down the answers, her handwriting a complete contrast to the neat, rounded numbers littering Trixie’s page. The heavily made-up girl watched her, biting her lip.

“Take a picture Brenda, it’ll last longer.” Katya broke the silence after a few moments and lifted her head up to lock eyes with Trixie, big smile still in place. Trixie laughed at her expression, more hesitant than Katya had ever seen her in her few months of being at school and speaking to the girl in passing.

“I was, uh, I was wondering-” here she flushed a deep red. Katya was not entirely sure how she could even tell Trixie was blushing under the copious layer of blush, but nevertheless it was endearing, and made Katya’s heart flutter in the most cliched way possible. “I was wondering if you wanted to grab a coffee some time?”

Katya felt the world stop. Her vision tunnelled until all she could see was Trixie, the beautiful girl’s words ringing in her ears. Had she even heard correctly? Did the Trixie Mattel really want to go and get coffee with her, the weird blonde Russian with a penchant for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time? It was surely impossible, but Trixie was poised, clearly expecting an answer that she wasn’t getting.

“Coffee?” was all Katya managed to blurt out as she watched Trixie’s expression fall slightly.

“Yeah, coffee. I mean, it’s not like a date-” Trixie paused as Katya’s eyes widened. She really wanted it to be a date. “-Unless, like…you want that?”

Katya bit her lip, not wanting to sound over eager but at the same time not wanting to turn Trixie away.

“Well, yeah. A date would be, um, fun. That could be cool,” Katya stumbled over her words, trying to sound breezy and cool but failing completely. Trixie bit back a smile.

“A cool date. Sounds fun,” she said, trying not to laugh. Katya snorted, and immediately berated herself for making possibly the least sexy noise in the entire world.

“When, uh, when would you like to get coffee?” Katya asked, trying to pretend she hadn’t just imitated a pig in front of the most gorgeous girl in the whole school. Trixie shrugged.

“Does Saturday afternoon work for you?”

“That’s perfect. Um, yeah,” Katya replied. They smiled at each other, and Katya was about to open her mouth to say something else when Mrs Dujour’s voice boomed above the general chatter in the classroom.

“Alright. Pack your stuff up and hand your papers in, I’ll see you tomorrow for a pop quiz!”

A collective groan rose up as the students packed away their things, but Katya barely noticed it, her eyes still on Trixie. She looked great as usual, dressed head to toe in white and pink. It wasn’t until Trixie gave a shy smile and fluttered her fingers goodbye that Katya remembered Adore and Ginger, who had walked to stand next to her.

“I feel so bad that you’ve gotta spend lunch with those bitches. Try and get dates! Today or tonight would be great. Good luck.” Ginger told her, as if she were a spy in a mission briefing, before turning and leaving with Adore.

*****************************

“Hey, Katya! Over here!” Violet’s voice floated above the rest of the talking in the corridor. Katya threaded her way through the mass of students to where she was stood with Alaska outside a classroom door. Both girls were leaning against the wall, having clearly been in conversation before they’d spotted Katya.

“Sharon’s in trouble,” Alaska grinned, jabbing a long nail at the slit of a window in the door. “As usual.”

Violet laughed. “What was it for again?”

Alaska clapped her hands in amusement as she listed them all. “Talking back, not doing enough work, distracting others, being cheeky, and a dress code violation too.”

She started to laugh as she faced the two. “She was told her shirt was too low and her skirt was too short, so she threatened to take them off. I swear I’ve never laughed so hard.”

Katya wheezed as she laughed. “She what?! She’s crazy!”

“You’re not wrong!” Violet giggled. “And Mrs Davis went in there, and then Del Taco went in there, so there’s now three teachers arguing their case in there. Take a look.”

Katya peered through the tiny window, taking care to angle herself so she couldn’t be seen. Ms Del Rio and another teacher who Katya didn’t recognise were stood facing away from the small window, gesturing and arguing passionately. Facing the window, Mrs Davis appeared to be on Sharon’s side, calmly speaking as Sharon stood next to her, her fingers plucking at her hair. When she caught a glimpse of Katya in the window, she winked and quirked her eyebrow up. Katya grinned and moved away.

“She winked at me. She seems to be handling it.” Katya commented, walking back to stand with the rest of the Mean Queens.

“She blew a kiss at me,” Alaska giggled. “I don’t know how she got away with that one. I’m sure she’ll be out in a minute, anyway.”

Within half of a minute of Alaska speaking, the door to the classroom finally opened and Sharon sauntered through it, rolling her eyes as she leant against the opposite wall to relay the events to the girls.

“Fucking hell. You think I can get Mr Andrews arrested? He seems way too bothered by my cleavage. The shirt isn’t even that low-cut! I went up a cup size, it’s called puberty. And apparently I’m not ‘applying’ myself enough. What a shame. Let’s get lunch.”

Katya followed as the Mean Queens began to walk through the now-empty corridors. They seemed to like being late to the cafeteria, it always made sure the attention was on them. Katya didn’t mind it, and at the very least she had grasped these confusing hallways now. Before they’d seemed like a maze, but now navigating them was second nature. Idly, Katya let her gaze trail across the walls of the corridor, taking in the various posters and flyers that seemed to be pinned everywhere. That was one thing she wasn’t used to yet, the amount of school related events that seemed to happen every week, and seemed to be so popular. Not that she’d been to any of them, the Mean Queens wouldn’t be seen dead at even the most high profile of football matches.

A familiar face caught her eye as they walked, and Katya stilled, nudging Alaska who came to a halt beside her.

“Is that you?” Katya asked in confusion, pointing towards a large poster on the wall next to them. Alaska’s face was front and centre, with what seemed to be Willam and Courtney either side of her. Katya looked over towards Alaska, confused when she saw an embarrassed look on the girl’s face, a pink flush creeping from her neck up to her cheeks. Katya frowned, and glanced back at the poster, seeing now it was an advert for the upcoming Christmas show at the school.

“Wha-” Katya started, only to be interrupted by Alaska shaking her head and motioning for Katya to shut up.

“Don’t, Sharon will hear,” Alaska told her, but it was too late. Sharon and Violet had already clocked that Katya and Alaska had stopped, and were making their way back.

“What will Sharon hear?” the girl in question asked, pausing beside Alaska, her gaze landing on the poster. There was a beat of silence as Violet and Sharon took in the information, both of their faces freezing into cold, hard expressions. Alaska bit her lip, looking desperate.

“You’re going to be in the Christmas show with Willam and Courtney?” Violet clarified, her voice so filled with ice Katya involuntarily shivered. Sharon folded her arms over her chest, now just looking at Alaska, who had guilt flooding her eyes.

“I…I got roped into it,” Alaska tried to explain, sounding so much like she was grasping at straws that even Katya didn’t believe her. “We do music together and they thought it would be a good idea but it wasn’t my fault! This kind of thing is stupid we’ve always said, I just couldn’t say no when Will and Court had already said yes and-” Alaska broke off as Sharon held up a hand to silence her.

“Woah, woah, slow down Lasky. It’s fine. You could’ve told us.” She reassured her, and then her voice went quiet. “You know, I would’ve gotten tickets if I’d known. Is it too late to get them now?”

Alaska ran her hands through her hair and nodded. “I-I think so. Sorry, I can see if there’s any left if you want them.”

Sharon said nothing, and Violet pursed her lips. “Yeah, okay. Let’s just get to the cafeteria, come on.”

The walk to the cafeteria was silent, heavy with tension, but their entrance into the sea of students was as grand as it had been on the very first day when Katya had seen them. Outwardly, it would be impossible to tell that there was any awkwardness at all. They talked as usual once they’d taken their seats, dancing around the topic of the Christmas show as much as they could. It was clear to Katya that all three of them were bothered by it, and she couldn’t help but think back to Sharon’s comments about Willam and Courtney the day before. Was she just mad because Alaska was doing a show and hadn’t told either her or Violet, or did it run deeper than that? Katya wasn’t sure, but she was afraid of the answer.

“Mmm, alcohol. Fuck, I needed this.” Sharon muttered, sipping her drink and then setting it down again. “Honestly, Mr Andrews can die. Do you honestly think I could get him arrested?”

Violet snorted, but it sounded mirthless. “Probably. I’d pay to see that, I really would.”

Katya waited - this was usually where Alaska would say something - but nothing happened. After a few minutes of agonising silence, Katya decided she couldn’t handle it anymore.

“I forgot to tell you! I have a big new- no, a good thin- fuck, I’ll get there. A big thing, that’s it. Good news. I have that. That’s what I have.” She rambled, suddenly remembering Trixie. Her eyes lit up at just the thought of her.

“Good news? What, did Ginger finally learn how to use a razor?” Violet asked, the humour back in her voice. Sharon laughed and Alaska giggled weakly.

“Uh, no. I don’t know. Maybe? Anyway, it’s better than that. It’s Trixie!” Katya exclaimed.

Sharon grinned. “Trixie learnt how to use a razor?”

“Stop teasing me, you know what I’m saying!” Katya pretended to complain. “She asked me to go out for coffee with her! On Saturday! As in, a date!”

The eyes of all three mean queens lit up at this news, their excitement mimicking Katya’s. She’d been going on and on about the human Barbie ever since she’d first laid eyes on her, and they were partially relieved that the pair were finally going on a date so Katya would stop whining. Violet grinned wickedly.

“And you’ve only been here what, like three months? It took that pair three fucking years, so good going! But this means you’ll stop banging on about how perfect she is, right?”

Sharon laughed. “You of all people Vi should know how that works. Alaska and I got worse after we started dating, I can only imagine Katya will be the same.”

The pair started to bicker over each other again, and Katya tuned them out, too used to their behaviour at this point to care. Alaska, who had been weirdly silent up until this point, took the opportunity to chime in, silencing her girlfriend and Violet instantly.

“Please let us do your hair and makeup and dress you for the date,” she begged, Violet and Sharon’s eyes widening as the implications of Alaska’s words sank in. Katya frowned.

“What’s wrong with my hair and makeup and outfits? I always look amazing!”

“Your makeup is terrible, and your outfits are…questionable,” Alaska drawled, Violet already pulling out the notepad she carried everywhere and nodding.

“Alaska and I will turn you into the supermodel you’ve always had the potential to be. You’ll sweep Trixie off her feet!” Violet flipped to a fresh page in her notebook and was about to start sketching when an indignant voice cut across them.

“Excuse me?!” Sharon yelped, her tone hurt. “Aren’t you leaving someone out?”

Violet pretended to consider her for a second, before shaking her head and grinning.

“Nope. I don’t think we are.”

“What about me? I want to make Katya look pretty too!”

Alaska shot Katya a knowing grin, clearly fully aware of the next debate that was about to unfold. Katya took a deep breath to prepare herself.

“You can sit in the corner and watch. I don’t trust you with makeup.” Violet stated, the shit-eating expression on her face already sending Katya into peals of laughter. She bit her lips to try and hold it in as she watched Sharon’s face go through a series of comical expressions in the space of a few seconds.

“Why not?! I look really good today, I put extra effort in!” Sharon protested, pointing at her face. “This is a good beat!”

Alaska laughed gently. “It is good, babe, but you can get away with the messy punk thing as well as that beat, and we don’t want to do that on Katya because it only works on you. So you’re not going near the makeup.”

“This… this is discrimination of the worst kind. I’m hurt. I could do pretty if I wanted to! I could make Katya look fucking stunning. Are you gonna let me do anything?”

“Shaz, have you ever done a really pretty beat? Like, an Alaska style beat? That’s the level we need to be aiming for on Katya’s face because she apparently can only do the lots of black and a red lip thing that you like, but slightly less punk,” Violet levelled her gaze at Sharon and crossed her arms, knowing this was a battle she was sure to win.

Sharon opened and closed her mouth a few times, clearly looking for the right words and not being able to find them.

“I could do an Alaska beat if I wanted to!” was all she managed eventually, both Alaska and Violet laughing at the indignant look on her face.

“Shaz, leave this one to the professionals. Kat, Alaska will do your makeup, and I’ll take care of the outfit and your hair. You’re going to look better than you’ve ever looked before,” Violet turned her attention back to the Russian, her eyes full of the joy of the situation.

“Have you ever considered that I can do my own hair and makeup and look bomb? Trixie loves my clothes,” Katya chimed in, seizing her chance. Violet raised an eyebrow.

“What outfit would you wear on Saturday then Kat, if you chose?”

Katya bit her lip and contemplated the question, mentally flicking through all the great outfit choices she had waiting for her in her wardrobe, not sure which one screamed ‘I’m cool and casual but this is also a date and I would really like to put my lips on yours’. That was the message she needed to convey through her outfit.

“Uh, I’m not sure. Maybe the Contact dress, Trixie would love that and it makes my ass look great.”

Alaska burst out laughing, Katya having shown the three this dress about a month ago when she’d received it in the mail.

“Kat, that dress barely covers your vagina. I know you’re desperate, but that’s next level.” She joked, pretending to swat Katya away.

“Alaska, you don’t even know desperate. You have sex on demand! You don’t feel desperation.” Violet reminded her, cackling when Alaska turned crimson and waved her hands to shut her up.

“This conversation is over. No Contact dress, no Sharon doing makeup, no allowing Katya to make her own decisions, ever. Are we done here?”

Both Sharon and Katya immediately, simultaneously disagreed, but Violet and Alaska overruled them.

“Decision made. Sorry ladies, you don’t get a say in this. Dates clearly aren’t Sharon’s strong suit anyway, so that doesn’t matter.” Violet announced.

“Hey! You’re single, and I’m not!” Sharon argued, but as usual, Violet just ignored her.

“You’re not single because I set you up. Now sit down and shut up.”

*************************************

Since about nine in the morning, Violet’s room had been transformed from a fairly regular, expensive rich-kid room to a dressing room, with makeup scattered on every available surface and each plug socket filled with some kind of hairstyling instrument. In one corner of the room, Violet fiddled with a mannequin she’d dressed, adjusting stitches here and there where only her trained eyes could see problems. Alaska knelt on Violet’s bed, uncomfortably close to Katya, deep in concentration as she patted creams and powders into her skin. Sharon had just gone downstairs to talk to Alyssa, bored of being stuck without a job to do. Katya kept her eyes closed, silently wishing she would come back so she could have some interesting conversation.

“I swear, if these next months have any more celebration in them, we’re all going to collapse from exhaustion.” Violet commented.

Katya did her best not to move her face as she spoke. “How much is going on?”

Alaska thought about it. “Your date with Trixie today, obviously. November 28th is Sharon’s seventeenth. December 9th is our one year anniversary. Then there’s Christmas, too. November and December are always so busy.”

“December 9th? Wow, that’s so close. How did you survive a year with Sharon?” Katya teased.

Alaska giggled. “Girl, I don’t even know. How does anyone survive being with Sharon?”

Sharon poked her head through the door. “I heard my name. What’s going on?”

Violet burst into laughter. “Oh my fucking god, Shaz. I swear you come every time Alaska says your name.”

Sharon raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I do, but that’s not relevant and kinda personal. What are you talking about?”

“Your birthday and yours and Alaska’s anniversary,” Violet told her, ignoring Sharon’s stupid joke. It made for a more peaceful life. Sharon’s eyes lit up and she bounced onto the bed before Alaska could tell her to be careful.

“You’re talking about me? That’s my favourite subject. Please, feel free to continue.” She flopped down and stretched across the bed. Thankfully - for Katya’s face and Sharon’s survival - Alaska didn’t seem to have smudged anything. Even so, she cursed loudly.

“Oh, you clumsy fucking cuntwhore. I’m gonna fucking murder you if you knock me, don’t think you’ll get off easy because you’re my girlfriend. I will not mess up this fucking paint job.”

Violet cackled. “Oh shit, you’re in the doghouse now, Shaz. Good luck.”

Sharon laughed and flipped Violet off. “Fuck you, she loves me. And how many times do I have to say not to call me Shaz?”

“Sorry!” Violet sang mischievously. “Shaz.”

“Stop!”

“Shazza.”

“You’re the worst person alive.”

“S-”

Alaska cut the pair off before they could begin again. “Sometimes I feel like the only one of us who matured past thirteen. Please, shut the fuck up. Hey, I think Katya’s face is done!”

She dusted a final sweep of highlighter across Katya’s defined cheekbones, before stepping back and grinning at her handiwork. Sharon and Violet immediately moved to crowd around the Russian, both of their mouths dropping open as they saw what an amazing job Alaska had done. It was still definitely a soft daytime look, but somehow Alaska had managed to make Katya’s cheekbones look like they could slit someone’s throat, her eyes had never looked so blue, and her eyelashes were long and fluttery. She looked stunning, yet still recognisably Katya.

“Is it good?” the girl in question asked, having not been given a mirror to see for herself. Alaska immediately scrambled for her handheld mirror and handed it over, grinning as Katya caught a glimpse of herself in the glass and audibly gasped.

“Are you actually a witch?” she breathed, turning her head so she could get a better look from every angle, unable to spot a single flaw. Alaska laughed delightedly.

“Not a witch, just really handy with one of these,” Alaska replied, waving her makeup brush around in the air. Sharon slipped an arm around Alaska’s waist, resting her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“You’re so good at makeup, babe. Can I kiss you and ruin yours?” Sharon asked, wicked smile on her face. Alaska and Katya burst out laughing whilst Violet groaned, moving back to adjust the hemline on the skirt one more time.

“Honestly Shaz, today is meant to be about Katya. Keep your hands to yourself for just another hour. Can you manage that?” 

Sharon went quiet. “…No.”

She pulled Alaska even closer, effectively filling any gap between them as she connected their lips. Alaska’s hands made their way down to Sharon’s hips, and she tilted her head down slightly to match Sharon’s height. Katya smiled at them, and even though Violet made retching noises in the background, Katya could see that she was smiling too.

“Ooh, what’s all this I’m walking into, baby? Vi, what’s going on?” Alyssa’s distinctive voice sounded before she appeared, opening the door and looking in on the girls. Alaska and Sharon broke apart to greet her, before both of them pointed to Katya.

“Doesn’t she look pretty?” Alaska cooed, watching Alyssa’s face for a reaction. Alyssa looked over to Katya and broke into a smile, clapping her hands together.

“She looks so beautiful! Miss Alaska you have done such a good job. Is there a special occasion?” Alyssa enquired, moving further into the room so she could get a better look at Katya’s face.

“Our Kat has got herself her first date,” Violet piped up from the corner, turning on a curling wand before walking back over to where the four were stood. “And it didn’t take her three years. I mean, isn’t that exciting!”

Alaska put a hand over Sharon’s mouth to stop her from rising to the bait, and threw a warning look in Violet’s direction. Alyssa didn’t notice, too busy quizzing Katya on who it was and where she was going and how she was feeling. Violet gently steered Alyssa away from the overwhelmed looking girl and toward the mannequin.

“Let poor Katya breathe mom, or she won’t even make it to her date,” Violet laughed, pointing out a few stitches she wanted Alyssa’s opinion on. “Are these done right?” she asked, biting her lip as Alyssa cast an expert eye over Violet’s tailoring job, before smiling and nodding.

“They’re perfect baby, Katya is going to look amazing,” Alyssa kissed the top of Violet’s head before stepping back and heading towards the door. She paused before she left the room, and looked back at the four girls. “Let me know if you guys need anything else. I’ll bring up some snacks later, Katya if you need any condoms, just let me know-”

Alyssa was interrupted by a loud screech from Violet, who firmly bundled her mother out of the door before she could say anything else.

“Honestly, she’s forgetting that right now I’m the only one of us who really needs condoms,” Violet muttered, gesturing for Katya to sit down closer to the heated curling wand. Sharon laughed, and pulled Alaska down onto the bed with her so they could watch Violet work her hair magic.

“You shouldn’t be so mean to your mom, she’s the best woman on this earth,” Sharon mock-scolded. Violet rolled her eyes, wrapping a long blonde lock around the thick barrel of the hairstyling tool.

“She might be the best woman on this earth, but she still doesn’t know when to stop,” Violet laughed, pulling out the wand after a few seconds and letting the bouncy curl drop, before spraying it with hairspray. She repeated the process, Katya weirdly enjoying it as she watched the transformation in the mirror.

Although the Russian had been against letting her friends make her over until she’d finally been coerced into it about an hour before they’d started, she couldn’t say she regretted that decision now. Between Violet and Alaska they’d transformed Katya from a reasonably pretty girl, into someone she didn’t even recognise. But in a good way. They may have been the officially-named Mean Queens, but they sure knew how to bring out someone’s best features.

“I should probably get going soon,” Katya mumbled, still transfixed with her own reflection as she pulled on her curls and watched them spring back upwards.

Alaska laughed. “See that? She’s just like your mom, staring at herself whilst talking to us.”

Violet clapped her hands together. “You’re so right. Katya, put this on and then you’re done.”

Katya studied the outfit as Violet handed it over. “Don’t miss me too much, will you?” She teased.

“I’m sure we’ll find ways to entertain ourselves in your absence.” Sharon breezed, leaning in to Alaska. Violet scoffed.

“In other words, I’ll have to call Nathan or Pearl, or hang out with my mom, whilst these two go at it like rabbits and send me pictures. I’m half tempted to crash your date with Trixie.”

Katya giggled as she slipped into the other room to get changed, still listening to the Mean Queens talk and bicker amongst themselves. They were almost like sisters, the way they treated one another.

“Why do you hate love, Violet? Love is beautiful.” Sharon propped herself up on her elbow so she could look at the girl as she spoke.

Violet choked out a gasp. “I don’t hate love! I hate that you two abandon me to fuck!”

“Would you like to stay this time?” Alaska offered, unable to keep a straight face.

“Both of you can die. You’re the worst.” Violet declared. “Katya, you done? I don’t want to be alone with these two for any longer than I have to be.”

“Almost,” Katya called back, trying not to laugh as she buttoned up the skirt and hoisted it round so it sat on her waist properly. Adjusting the cropped shirt, Katya made her way back into Violet’s bedroom and twirled so they could appreciate her from all angles. Alaska cheered, Sharon whooped, and Violet just appraised her handiwork with a smile.

“You look good, kid,” she said after a moment, moving over to push Katya’s hair back into place.

“They grow up so fast,” Sharon sniffed, pretending to wipe away a tear. “One minute you’re getting them drunk for the first time and the next they’re off into the big bad world on a date.”

Violet threw a pair of shoes towards Katya as Alaska laughed and smacked Sharon on the ass.

“Put those on and you’ll be good to go. Look, Shaz, those are yours so you can shut up about not contributing,” Violet told the girl, Sharon immediately rolling over to squint at the shoes Katya was pulling on, and cheering.

“Those are my lucky shoes. For when I want to get lucky.” She waggled her eyebrows in a suggestive manner and Katya laughed, buckling the strap and straightening up again.

“Am I ready now?” she asked, glancing between the queens, who looked at each other before nodding.

“You’re ready.”


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Katya goes on a date, a plan is hatched, and Sharon has a birthday - but not everything goes as Alaska wanted it...

Had coffee shops always been such a stressful environment? Katya swore that the last time she’d been in one - which wasn’t so long ago, barely a few days when she went shopping with the Mean Queens - they hadn’t been scary at all. The scent of coffee was relaxing, the warmth was inviting, and for fuck’s sake it was just a coffee shop.

But Trixie was in this one.

She hadn’t spotted Katya yet, which meant she had a little bit of time to pull herself together before approaching. It really was excessive of her to let the Mean Queens do her face and outfit. It was just Trixie! Yet at the same time, it was Trixie. No way could she turn up to a date with Trixie Mattel looking anything less than perfect. Besides, being visually perfect had seemed to work for Sharon and Alaska. It had to work for Katya too.

“Hey! Katya?” 

Katya almost jumped backwards, the voice surprising her, but managed to steel herself before she made a complete fool of herself in front of Trixie. She plastered a smile onto her face, shocked at how easily her real smile replaced the artificial one, and took her seat across from Trixie.

It went without saying that Trixie looked beyond stunning. Her hair was big and blonde, billowing out behind her in styled waves. She’d added a touch of blue to her eyeshadow, a little pop of colour in her otherwise pink ensemble. The thought that she’d made an extra effort - all for Katya - blew her mind. The fact that she could do all that herself without needing a village was also mind blowing to Katya. Trixie was talented. And she was moving her mouth, clearly trying to communicate with Katya in the way that the majority of humanity did, but without realising Katya wasn’t the majority of humanity and was not paying attention in the slightest.

“-wasn’t too hard to find?”

Katya tuned back into Radio Trixie to catch the end of her sentence and an expectant look on her perfect features. Katya froze, not wanting to expose herself as an actual idiot on the first date. That was something best left until after the wedding, Katya was pretty sure. Wedding?! Katya’s thoughts were surprising her, and so to shut her brain up she stuttered out a reply to Trixie, figuring that abject humiliation was preferable to whatever was going on in her head.

“Uh, yeah?” was actually all that she managed, flushing a delicate pink under the pounds and pounds of caked on makeup she had on her face at the delicate twinkling of Trixie’s laugh.

“You have no idea what I just said, do you?” Fuck, Trixie was on to her. The Barbie opposite her was grinning, seemingly enjoying Katya’s embarrassment. How sadistic.

“I was looking at your face.” Katya mumbled, and then blushed harder. “I mean - nope, I can’t recover from that one. It’s been what, a minute?”

Trixie’s laugh was almost like a screech, and it was music to Katya’s ears. “Never mind, I was making small talk. Did you do your makeup today? It looks great.”

Katya’s initial reaction was to scream ‘ARE YOU JOKING? YOURS IS PERFECT!’ but luckily, she controlled herself and thought of a more logical response. There had already been way too many moments that made Katya want to turn her body inside out and clean it with an abrasive sponge to wipe away the memories.

“I wish. This is an official Alaska beat, I’ll never look this good ever again.” She joked, pretending to flutter her eyelashes.

Trixie smiled. “Alaska is really good at makeup, but you’re such a liar. You always look that good.”

There was a beat of silence, in which Trixie seemed to realize what she’d said. Her skin tinged the same rosy colour Katya’s had only moments ago, and Katya’s heart rate sped up a little.

“Coffee. You, uh, want to get some?” Trixie said quickly, trying to fill the awkward silence that had descended between the pair. Katya nodded, and hesitated.

“I’ll, uh, go and get them,” she said, looking at Trixie through long, fluttery eyelashes with what she hoped was an alluring expression, but honestly probably looked more like she was severely constipated. “We don’t want to lose our table. What do you drink?”

“Are you su-” Trixie was cut off by Katya’s insistent nod, and smiled. “Um, I think I’ll have a medium caramel latte. With skinny milk.”

Katya bit back a smile at Trixie’s order - of course she had one of the sweetest drinks on the menu - and headed over to the counter to order and pay. Trixie’s froofy drink and her own black filter coffee ordered, Katya bounced back over to the table Trixie had chosen at the barista’s insistence she’d bring the drinks out to the pair. 

“So-” the pair started at the same time after Katya had sat down. They both paused, before bursting into slightly awkward laughter.

“You go first.” Katya conceded, not giving Trixie any other choice but to start speaking.

“I was just gonna ask about like, your family I guess. I can’t imagine moving to another country, that speaks another language, and just settling the way you have.”

Memories of the sheer terror Katya had felt on her first day at her new school flashed into her mind. America had seemed so strange and foreign, despite the fact that Katya understood every word people were speaking to her. It was foreign that girls could look like Barbies, and there could be beautiful cliques so intimidating that everyone lusted after them, and people were mean for fun. But Trixie, all of her newfound (and surprisingly easily found) friends, and her incredible mom, they were the reason she felt so at ease.

“My mom is brilliant,” Katya said passionately. “Her name is Michelle and honestly, you will never meet a woman more loving or more real in your life. She’s beautiful, she’s funny, and I swear she was born with the ability to be a perfect mother. I love her so much.”

Trixie’s eyes lit up. “I want to meet her already, she sounds amazing. Is it just you?”

“Yeah. It’s always been me and mama, and she’s been so useful in reassuring me that I’m not some weird Russian freak. You and her both.”

Trixie’s eyes widened as Katya’s compliment slipped out of her mouth, and she smiled, displaying a perfect row of pearly white teeth.

“Do people treat you like a weird Russian freak?” Trixie asked, her mind immediately flicking to the harsh words that often spewed from the Mean Queen’s perfect lips. But she dismissed that thought, knowing how close Katya had gotten to the most popular girls in school. Although if you asked Trixie, she still wasn’t sure how.

Katya shook her head. “Not much. Honestly, people know who I’m friends with, and there’s only a couple of people in school who would dare defy them. Like, they’re not insane dictators, at least not yet, so there’s no rules in place, but I think everyone knows not to fuck with them. And I guess me, now that I’m part of their group. Only-” Katya broke off, not wanting to throw Adore and Ginger under the bus. They were her friends, and it was only ever light hearted teasing. Trixie smiled sympathetically.

“It’s actually been so nice since we started hanging out together more,” Trixie admitted, stirring her coffee absentmindedly. “People don’t - well, I’m not really disliked, but people don’t really seem to invest any time in me. I can get along with anyone but you’re the first person to pursue a proper friendship with me, or to seem excited at the idea of spending time with me outside of school, date or not. I have you to thank for making me a lot less lonely, this year.” 

Katya’s heart almost melted at the warmth in Trixie’s gaze. “I don’t see why people wouldn’t want to hang out with you. You’re literally like a walking doll! Pretty and poised and polite and fucking funny, too. I don’t understand what bad there is to say about you.”

Trixie’s fixed smile faltered slightly. “I don’t know, maybe I’m too off-putting. There has been quite a lot said about me, but I just keep my head down these days and that seems to work.”

There was an undercurrent of pain that soured her words, as a twinge of guilt hit Katya. It was far too prevalent that it was the Mean Queens who had spoken badly about her, and the conflicting emotions battling inside Katya were intense. Trixie didn’t deserve any of their cattiness, but maybe they would stop now that the two of them were on a date? They’d been so excited to help Katya get ready that she was sure they wouldn’t continue teasing the blonde. Katya was reluctant to write off the Mean Queens as, well, mean, despite the overwhelming amount of outside sources proving it. It was all confusing, but one thing Katya knew was that she couldn’t let Trixie look so sad for any longer.

“You’re not off-putting. You’re - you’re sweet, like sugar. And some people say that they don’t like sugar, and they don’t have it in their coffee, but they don’t realize that there’s natural sugars in most things and that they enjoy those sugars. People like you but they don’t realize it, I think. Did that make any sense at all?”

Katya had rambled on, not really sure where she was going but knowing that she wanted Trixie to feel appreciated. Thankfully, her nonsensical speech made Trixie giggle, her hands trembling as she tried to take a sip of her coffee.

“Thanks, Katya. For the record, if anyone says you’re a weird Russian, I’ll - wait, how do you say ‘fuck off’ in Russian?”

Katya did her best to minimise her flailing that came with her laughter, for fear of knocking any breakable glasses filled with scalding liquids off the table, but there was no disguising her open-mouthed, wheezy laughing. She hadn’t been expecting Trixie to be so blunt.

“Отвали.”

Trixie tried to copy her pronunciation, butchered it, and then beamed with pride. The sight was so strangely endearing that Katya couldn’t stop her own huge smile from breaking onto her face.

“You’ll tell them that, will you?” Katya teased gently, earning herself a punch on the arm from Trixie.

“At least I tried!” she defended herself, beginning to settle into the date now. Katya was so easy to be around, and she wore her emotions on her sleeve. Trixie appreciated that, her high school experience meaning she liked to know what people’s intentions were. “You have to appreciate that I tried.”

“You did try,” Katya grinned, lifting her mug to her painted lips and taking a deep gulp of the bitter liquid inside. Trixie watched, shuddering slightly.

“I don’t know how you can drink that,” she said, gesturing to Katya’s jet black coffee. “I can’t actually stand the taste of coffee unless it’s masked completely by at least ten pounds of artificial sugar,” she added, laughing.

“That’s because you’re American, and American’s don’t know how to do things,” Katya shrugged, only half joking. Trixie flipped her off, draining the last of her own drink from her cup, a bright pink lipstick stain marking the cup when she placed it back down on the table.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Trixie asked, bright blue eyes betraying her nerves even as she managed to keep her voice steady.

Katya nodded and rose from the table, leaving half her coffee undrunk behind her. She didn’t even notice, her entire being focused on Trixie and what Trixie was doing and whether or not Trixie was having a good time. She was falling for the barbie blonde, and falling hard.

It was about mid afternoon when Trixie finally had to leave, bursting the tiny bubble of forever that the two of them had escaped into for most of the day. Talking with Trixie felt easy and natural, as they ended up trawling one of Trixie’s favourite hiking trails to avoid ending up in the city. Katya’s heart fluttered every time they took hands to guide one another over the rocks, and her skin was burnished red from the wind, Trixie’s proximity, and the never-ending blush that coloured her cheeks.

“Thank you again for spending today with me, Katya. This was really fun, I’d love to do this again.” Trixie said warmly, taking both of Katya’s hands in her own. 

The butterflies in Katya’s stomach flared up, but it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. “Grool!” She exclaimed, and then snorted. “I, uh. I meant to say great, and then switched to cool, and I… I’m not a native English speaker, okay?”

Trixie giggled. “Sounds grool to me. I’ll see you in school on Monday?”

Katya nodded, words escaping her. She was still trying to catch her breath from their long walk, but every time she looked at Trixie, her breath was taken again. Try as she might, it was impossible to tear her gaze from the electric blue eyes that stared back at her, their owner also seemingly lost for words. A few moments passed with the two girls just gazing at each other, memorising every minute detail of the other’s face, until Trixie leaned in, taking Katya by surprise. She pressed the gentlest of kisses to Katya’s lips, blushing a furious pink as she pulled away and smiled softly.

“I’ll see you around, Katya. This was pretty grool.”

********************************* 

Late on Sunday afternoon, Katya excused herself from Violet’s house, slung her bag over her back, and set off for Adore’s house. She hadn’t stopped smiling since Trixie had left the day before, the memory of their date playing over and over again in her mind. She’d relayed the entire thing to Alaska, Violet, and Sharon in minute detail after all three had begged to know what had gone down, Katya delighting in the change in their facial expressions. Their blank, intrigued stares had morphed into excited grins within seconds, their shining eyes and squeals perfectly matching how Katya felt. She’d even told her mom about the date in detail, desperate for anyone close to her to know how happy she was. Of course, Ginger and Adore were no exception.

“-and then she kissed me! It was small, but it was a kiss and I can’t stop smiling. This is so huge!”

Adore’s face broke into a huge grin. “That’s fucking adorable. It’s like Barbie meets Ken! Kendall Jenner? Female Ken? I don’t know, but it’s cute.”

Ginger pulled her into a hug. “That’s amazing. At least your love life is more successful than mine, every guy I’ve tried to get close to this year has made gross comments about me. Just a nickname, my ass.”

Katya frowned, pulling back from the hug to look at Ginger properly.

“Their nickname for you has really spread that far?” she asked, more pieces of the ‘why Ginger and Adore have such a burning hatred for the Mean Queens’ puzzle slotting into place. Ginger nodded, and Adore chimed in to answer Katya as she was wont to do when a question was particularly probing.

“About a week after they started teasing Ginger about her minj, the entire school started joining in. Notes on her locker, slipped into her bag, scrawled on her books- for about a month, we couldn’t get away from it. I heard it was even all over the boys bathroom. It died down a little bit after that, no thanks to those bitches, but Ginger’s not even been able to get close to a guy since,” Adore explained, her words tinged with anger. Katya’s eyes widened, having not realised just how widespread the Mean Queens influence really was.

“They can do all that just by calling you a name?” she whispered, Adore’s words painting an unfavourable picture of the Mean Queens she really didn’t want to see, but knew she had to hold close to her for later on. Ginger nodded again, large eyes filled with tears Katya could see she was trying desperately hard to hold back.

“They deny that it’s their fault, of course, but no one would dare go against them. They’ve got more power than any three people should have, especially in school. Like, if it wasn’t bad enough that I’m fat and unconventionally attractive, they had to go and ruin my chances of falling in love too with that stupid nickname. And then they have the audacity to just hide their relationships like it’s nothing!” Ginger broke off, panting slightly, before shrugging. “I know what we’re doing is like…a little mean. But they deserve to know how it feels.”

“They’ve caused enough heartbreak and misery to last a century,” Adore jumped in, seeing how hard Ginger was finding it. “Not just to us. They deserve their titles, and they deserve to be knocked down. Take some of the stuffing out of them. Teach them a lesson. All of that stuff.”

Katya couldn’t help but nod in agreement. It was so odd to her that when she was with Alaska, Violet, and Sharon, they acted just like normal high schoolers. Alright, so they were flawless creatures with cutting wit, but it never seemed malicious and it never seemed to go too far. Yet when she spoke to Adore and Ginger, or even Trixie to an extent, a completely different picture was painted of her friends, leaving Katya to wonder who the Mean Queens actually were. And whether being knocked down a peg or two, like Adore and Ginger were proposing to do, would actually bring out their true personalities. Katya was confused, and trying desperately hard to squash the nagging voice inside her that kept asking whether or not outing the queens was the right way to go about teaching them a lesson.

She had to trust Adore and Ginger knew what they were doing. 

“Uh,” Katya mumbled, glancing down at her phone and sighing. “Speak of the Mean Queens, and they appear, I guess… Sharon’s snapchatting me.” 

Adore raised her eyebrows. “I hope that bitch sends everything on ten seconds. Whatever it is, I’m taking a picture of this. Open it.”

Katya never really knew what to expect from Sharon - it didn’t really seem like anyone did - so it was with a little bit of caution that she tapped the mean queen’s name to view her pics. She’d sent four in quick succession, and Adore and Ginger leaned over Katya’s shoulder to see and steal them.

Adore read the first caption aloud and pretended to throw up. “Is there any need? They’re so fucking gross, I don’t understand them at all.”

Katya expected the second one, or at least something along those lines, and the combined reactions of shock and disgust from Adore and Ginger made Katya have to stifle a giggle. “Ew! She’s not serious, right?”

Of course, it was Sharon Needles, the punkest bitch in the school. She was completely serious, but even Katya was surprised to see two perfectly perky pairs of tits flash up on the screen. Tits attached to the flawless bodies of Alaska and Sharon, their makeup still in place even as the bird’s nest like quality of their hair gave away what they’d been doing before turning on the camera.

“Just be grateful all you can see is their boobs,” Katya laughed, having seen more of Alaska and Sharon’s naked bodies than she had of any other human. Nothing fazed her anymore, and Adore and Ginger boggled at her nonchalance.

“Do they often send nudes?” Adore asked after a while, her questioning tone partly questioning why she was even surprised. Katya shrugged.

“Every now and then. I think Sharon gets a kick out of it, and Alaska just goes along with it because she knows she has the tiniest body. Now pay attention, the last one is coming.”

Trust Sharon to unwittingly fill Katya with guilt at her last snap. She bit her lip as she reread the words over and over again, her stomach churning as even Ginger and Adore went silent. Katya knew from Alaska that Sharon didn’t outwardly express her love very often, and she knew that this was probably sent to Violet too, and something about having all that knowledge and sharing it all with her worst enemies made Katya feel ill. She was glad when the ten seconds was up and the picture disappeared, even if Adore now had a copy.

Adore flicked through the four photos that she’d taken of Katya’s phone and the snapchats, nodding to herself with a satisfied smile.

“Just the captions alone are enough to convince the most sheltered, ignorant dick in the world that those two are together.” Adore said gleefully, clicking off the photos app and locking her phone again.

“And the nudes, you dumbass. That’s pretty convincing,” Ginger laughed, Katya joining in with a strained giggle after a while.

It was one thing to talk about giving the Mean Queens a taste of their own medicine, and throw ideas around a room. It was another thing entirely for Adore and Ginger to take private photos and knowledge that Sharon had entrusted Katya with, and use them for the sole purpose of outing the Mean Queens to the entire school. But it was a means to an end, and if it meant that the three girls would stop being quite so mean well….sometimes you had to be cruel to be kind. Right?

Katya hesitated, before deciding to just speak. “I… I feel kinda bad about this. I don’t know if all of this is entirely necessary, I mean-”

Ginger didn’t even give Katya a chance to finish her worry. “Kat! You can’t be getting cold feet just yet, not when we’re so close! You mentioned that their anniversary is on the 9th, so we have that and all this extra information about them, about Violet… this can all be over soon. You won’t have to hang out with them, or anything. They won’t torment Trixie anymore. You can’t give up now.”

Katya wasn’t reassured in the slightest, but she nodded anyway. “You’re right. I won’t give up.”

Adore grinned, and pulled Katya and Ginger into a tight hug.

“I love you bitches,” she said warmly, letting them go and moving to sit back on her chair in the corner of the room, eyes switching from friendly to intense, her gaze fixed on Katya and Ginger. “Now we’ve got the material, we need to get the actual plan together.”

Katya shifted on the bed, both to try and get in a more comfortable position, and because those words themselves made her want to hide under the bedcovers. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help Adore and Ginger, it was more that the idea of helping had seemed way better than the actual reality. But Adore and Ginger were looking at her expectantly, and she knew she was trapped in a corner, with no way out.

“Uh-” Katya started, her Russian accent growing thicker through her nerves. “I guess we could, um, give the information to people? Like that foot and mouth thing?”

Katya knew her vague plan wasn’t the best, but she hadn’t been expecting Adore and Ginger to look at her in shock, and then burst out into loud, mocking laughter.

“Oh my god,” Ginger wheezed, actual tears forming at the edges of her eyes. “Did you mean word of mouth?”

Katya flushed a deep red, the embarrassment at messing up the phrase manifesting itself somewhere deep in her chest, feeling like a vice gripping at her internal organs. Adore shook her head, wiping the back of her arm over her eyes as she tried to compose herself and focus again.

“God Kat, if there’s one thing you’re good for it’s a laugh,” she grinned, Katya forcing herself to join in. “Right, focus. That’s actually not a bad idea. Let’s expand on it.”

Every word that left Adore’s lips made Katya feel sick, every comment and nod from Ginger felt like a stab to the chest. Katya dutifully listened in, suggesting ideas before ducking her head with shame when they were received well. Part of her worried she was in too deep, but there really was no getting out now. Everything was being set in motion, laid out in front of them like the battle plans must have been laid out on the round table in front of King Arthur. It almost felt militant, making plans to take down the leaders and watch them crumble before taking whatever was left as their own. This was it, and Katya wasn’t sure she was into it anymore. adore?

“So, the day after? That works out well. Maybe get everything going the night before, so it’s ready in the morning and we can just walk into chaos. Are we all agreed?”

Adore’s wide eyes flickered from Ginger to Katya, back and forth between the two.

“Agreed.” Ginger nodded. 

Never had Katya struggled with one English word so much in her life. Those six letters stuck in her throat, determined to stay down in a last-ditch attempt to follow her own moral compass. But this was America, and moral compasses worked differently here, so Katya had to force the word up anyway, ignoring the guilt and regret that wrestled in an angry knot in the pit of her stomach.

“A-Agreed.” Katya choked out, the words feeling like they were physically burning her throat on the way up. Adore nodded, satisfied with her response.

“Well.” Adore finished, brushing herself off and maintaining steady eye contact with Katya. “Keep your eyes and ears open, Kat. Anytime now.”

********************************

Katya almost felt like she was living a double life, swapping from being Katya to being Agent Zamo, and she never ceased to find it strange how easy it was to slip back into being herself when she was at Violet’s. It was like moving from the cold outdoors to a warm bath, something comfortable and familiar. These were the girls she was supposed to be sleuthing, yet she felt strangely at home amongst them. Something about them made them easier to relate to than most others.

“Shaz! Why are you just lying there? Get excited, it’s your birthday! You’re old!” Violet urged, jabbing at Sharon’s side. Just as Katya had seen her many times, she was sprawled across Violet’s bed, with no regard as to whether the girl wanted her there or not.

“I’m tired, you bitch! I got exactly zero hours of sleep last night.” Sharon flinched away from Violet’s prodding fingers, trying to flick her away. Katya laughed and shook her head.

“So I heard. Violet texts me everything she hears, you know.” She informed the dark-haired girl.

Sharon cracked a smile. “Violet’s a bitch. Fuck, why do people make such a big deal out of birthdays? There’s literally nothing exciting about seventeen, at all.”

Violet stopped her attempts at tickling the splayed-out girl to frown at her. “What’s bothering you? You love birthdays. You love celebrating. It’s not just the lack of sleep, you’ve been sleep-deprived all the time since you started dating Alaska. What’s going on?”

“It’s dumb, it doesn’t matter. I’m-”

“-do not say you’re doing fine, or so help me I’ll rip up all of your favourite clothes. Use your words, Shaz. What’s on your mind?” Violet interrupted her.

Sharon flipped her off and sat up, chewing her lip. “I don’t know. A lot of things. School. Life. The future. My relationship.”

Katya pursed her lips at that, and Violet shot her a wary look.

“This is about Willam and Courtney, isn’t it?” Violet clarified, her eyes not leaving Katya. Sharon clocked the glancing and heaved a sigh.

“I trust Katya, it’s fine. Yeah, it’s those two. I don’t understand how they’ve just materialized into Alaska’s life out of nowhere and she wants to spend all of her time with them. She knows they’re bad news! Willam is, anyway. I just don’t get it.”

Both Katya and Violet knew partially why Alaska had been hanging out with Willam and Courtney - to practise some covers of songs that Sharon liked, for her birthday - but even if Sharon had known that, Katya had a feeling that wasn’t all that was bothering her. None of them had really spoken about the Christmas show that the three were performing in, but the underlying tension hadn’t quite died down about it.

“I don’t either, she must just get along with them. Lasky’s good at getting along with other people, way better than us.” Violet tried.

Sharon pulled a face. “Too good. I just - I know what you’re gonna say, Vi, I already know - but like, they’re pretty, blonde, talented, funny, charming… and they’re gay even if no one else knows it.”

Violet burst out laughing, and immediately tried to stop herself, shaking her head in slight anguish.

“Sorry Shaz. But yeah, if those two aren’t fucking on the regular I’d be surprised. I really don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about though,” she tried to reassure Sharon, perching herself on Sharon’s lap and prodding her cheeks together in an attempt to make the other girl laugh. “I know it’s Willam, and I know you don’t trust her, but Lask is sensible. Dumb and useless, and a little bit like your pet cat, but she’s pretty sensible. You know she only has eyes for you.”

Sharon let out a long sigh, and shoved Violet off her lap.

“You’re too heavy, jesus. What do you stuff your bras with, rocks?” Sharon cracked a weak joke and Katya grinned, feeling the mood in the room lift slightly. 

“It’s obvious how much she loves you,” Katya volunteered, the words feeling bitter in her mouth as she tried to forget about the plans she’d made with Adore and Ginger. “I haven’t known you that long, and it’s so clear.”

Sharon smiled in Katya’s direction. “Thanks Kat. I just…I get paranoid easily. Vi knows.”

“Vi wants to throttle you half the time. We have this conversation so much, and each time we have it I know Alaska is even more in love with you than she was the last time.” Violet’s tone was jokey, but her eyes were soft, and filled with a worry that Katya didn’t entirely understand.

Over the past few months she’d picked up bits and pieces about Sharon’s background, and just why the Mean Queen spent all her time at Violet’s house, but Sharon never really spoke fully about it. It was obvious that it had a lot to do with why she was so worried about Willam and Courtney, although that was another thing Katya couldn’t even pretend to understand. It felt like the more time she spent with them, the less she felt like she knew. It was tough to infiltrate a group of friends who had known each other for so long, and knew so much about each other.

She was about to open her mouth to speak again, when the distant slam of the front door echoed through the house, and the sound of heels clipping up the marble staircase reached their ears. Sharon’s eyes immediately lit up, her gaze fixed on the door to Violet’s room, which flung open to admit a whirlwind of a skinny teen, bags and skirts and hair akimbo and flying around her.

“Sorry I’m so late,” Alaska panted, dropping her stuff in the corner of the room and kicking off her heels. “I had a few last minute bits to do.”

“Don’t worry about it babe,” Sharon smiled, her entire attitude shifting into one of joy. Katya watched how Sharon’s eyes tracked every minute move that Alaska made, the sheer love in her eyes feeling like a punch to Katya’s gut.

Sharon patted her lap, and Alaska pranced over to sit on it, her arms wrapping around Sharon’s waist as she pressed a gentle kiss to her girlfriend’s lips. Violet scoffed from where she had slumped on a beanbag, a fluffy blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

“And I’m too heavy?” she asked incredulously, one eyebrow raised.

“Alaska is skinnier than you. You’re only skinny in corsets,” Sharon shot back, her head resting on Alaska’s tits. Violet grinned, shaking her head in mock disappointment.

“You’re so in love it’s disgusting. I feel like I’ve lost the Sharon Needles I knew and loved,” Violet lamented, ducking as Sharon threw a pillow at her head.

“If you’d grow a pair and actually ask Pearl out, you too could be this happy,” Sharon told her, only half joking. Alaska nodded, trying her best to look intelligent.

“It’s a well known fact that finding love is the best thing someone can do,” she added, her eyes bright with the joy of the situation. Violet just scowled, pelting the pillow back in the happy couple’s direction. Katya laughed at their antics. This kind of banter had become second nature to her now, but there was a part of her that still delighted in being able to see beneath the Mean Queen’s school facade.

At least, delighted her until she remembered that she was about to destroy their lives.

“Presents!” Katya yelled, half in an attempt to squash down the nausea that appeared every time she thought about the day after Sharon and Alaska’s anniversary, half to prevent the argument that was sure to break out between Sharon and Violet.

Alaska clapped, immediately hopping off of Sharon’s lap and heading back to her pile of stuff. She rooted through her bag, trying to find the square package she’d stowed in there earlier. Violet and Katya hung back with their own gifts, wanting Alaska to be the first to give Sharon a present.

“Aha!” Alaska cheered when she found it, handing it over to Sharon with a kiss and a “I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

Sharon immediately tore off the wrapping paper, not being very good at savouring the moment, and frowned as it revealed a blank CD case, with a single CD inside.

“Uh, what is this?” she asked, raising her eyes to meet Alaska’s grinning expression, obviously pleased with herself.

“It’s a little project I’ve been working on. Came up with it myself, had a little help, made it just for you. Vi, put it in the thing for me?”

Alaska reached over to pass Violet the CD, the latter girl rolling her eyes as she took the disc from her fingers.

“What is this, 2008? We’re using CDs? Blast from the past, Lask, way to make Shaz feel old.”

Alaska flipped her off, quickly hushing her as the crackle of breathing into a microphone indicated that the audio on the disc had started to play. Katya leaned in to watch Sharon’s face as she listened, wanting to see the joy on her face when she realised what was going on.

“Surprise, Sharon! It’s me, Alaska, your girlfriend! Happy birthday sweetheart, I hope you’re doing well. I put together this little collection for you with the help of Willam and Courtney, because I know you love hearing me sing and you like it when I listen to your music. I love you!” Alaska on the recording said, her voice sounding slightly crackly from the quality but very obviously excited. Sharon’s face had split into a wide grin, tugging Alaska back onto her lip as she pressed kisses into her shoulder and listened to the introduction to the recording. 

Five songs played, and both Katya and Violet had absolutely no inkling as to any of the words, the original singer, or even the title. It wasn’t like they needed to know any of it, anyway - Alaska’s voice was beautiful enough for them to enjoy it regardless, and Sharon and Alaska had seemingly slipped into their own world where the two of them were the only people around. Alaska’s eyes didn’t leave Sharon’s face, both of them lip-syncing the words without even realizing. If Katya and Violet had gotten up and left halfway through listening, Katya was positive neither of them would have noticed. 

A little way through what Alaska had informed them was the last track, Katya heard another voice that wasn’t Alaska’s. It was higher, sweeter, and had been in the background of a couple of tracks, but not this noticeably. Katya’s gaze instantly flickered to Violet, who mouthed ‘Courtney’ and instantly resumed watching Sharon’s expression. She looked slightly disconcerted, but quickly shook it off to enjoy the music.

Then another voice chimed in. 

Higher, shrill, distinctive. Even if Katya had never heard the girl sing before, just from her recognizable voice alone Katya knew it was Willam. Sharon swallowed, taking a deep breath in, visibly tensing at the sound of the third blonde’s voice. Katya’s gaze flicked over to Violet, noticing how the dark haired girl had half risen off of her seat, her entire being fixed on Sharon and Sharon’s face and Sharon’s body language. Katya didn’t know what Sharon had against Willam, but she also knew this couldn’t be good.

Alaska - poor, oblivious Alaska - hadn’t yet cottoned on to the change in Sharon. With her eyes closed she’d been so focused on the lyrics to the song, deeply personal lyrics that had always resonated with the pair, that it wasn’t until the song ended and silence reigned in the room that she caught Sharon’s expression, and was caught completely off guard.

“Sharon?” she asked, Katya wincing at the unintentionally vulnerable note in Alaska’s voice, feeling like she’d witnessed something she shouldn’t. Sharon shook her head, visibly trying to pull herself back together and muster the same enthusiasm she’d had at the beginning of the CD.

“That was beautiful babe.” Sharon forced a smile, trying to cover her emotions, but it was too late. Every girl in the room had felt Sharon’s disapproval. There was nowhere to hide.

Alaska sat back, hot tears burning at the edges of her eyes. She was trying desperately to keep the depth of the hurt she was feeling from her girlfriend, not wanting to let herself appear that vulnerable, especially not when Katya and Violet were still in the room.

“You didn’t like it,” she said flatly, feeling like her throat was about to close up and choke her. And honestly, at that moment in time, it sounded preferable. Sharon instantly shook her head, the jumble of emotions flooding her veins clouding her judgement.

“No! It’s not that. I love it, and I love you,” she said quickly, meaning it. After all, up until the very last song it had been the best and most thoughtful present Sharon had ever received. She loved Alaska, and she loved hearing Alaska sing, and a CD of Alaska singing Sharon’s favourite songs was really the cherry on top. But she couldn’t get past the fact that it had been Courtney and Willam who had enabled and helped Alaska to make the CD.

And suddenly all Alaska’s late nights out and dinner’s missed in favour of some mysterious project made perfect sense. Of course she hadn’t been home, she’d been out creating this gift, this wonderful, beautiful, personal gift for Sharon. Sharon, who had just thrown the whole thing back in Alaska’s face because beautiful, oblivious Alaska had recruited Willam and Courtney to help her out of the goodness of her heart.

Sharon knew there was nothing malicious behind it. She knew that. She knew Alaska hadn’t gotten her friends to sing on the track to spite Sharon. She knew Alaska had only done it because that was what the song called for. Yet she still couldn’t get past it, couldn’t bring herself to thank Alaska in the way she should.

Alaska herself still had her eyes fixed on Sharon, still desperately trying not to start crying. Tears wouldn’t solve anything, she’d always been told that. But she needed to know what she’d done wrong, needed to know why Sharon was so still and silent. Violet and Katya hadn’t breathed a word, both knowing that this was a battle Sharon and Alaska needed to sort out together. Even if all Violet really wanted to do was slap clueless Alaska across the face and remind her who Willam was.

“Please talk to me,” Alaska begged when the silence in the room became too much for her, the quiet taking on a monster like form in her head. Sharon caught her eye, and felt a pang in her heart as she saw the pain reflected there.

“Hey, I love you. And I love the CD, I just didn’t expect to hear Willam and Courtney on it. That’s all,” she said quietly, meaning every word. Well, she half meant them. She hadn’t expected to hear the two blonde’s on the track, but that wasn’t the only problem. But she had to keep beautiful, innocent Alaska from finding out the truth, because Sharon knew how tough a pill the truth would be for her to swallow. Alaska’s eyelashes fluttered, the light reflecting off of the tears caught on the end.

“You promise?” she asked finally, the vulnerable note that sent knives through Katya’s heart back in her voice. Sharon nodded, her eyes firmly fixed on Alaska now.

“I promise. You know I get when I haven’t eaten, I’m just being dumb. Stupid Noodles,” Sharon’s voice was gentle as she moved to wrap her arms around Alaska, the taller queen giggling weakly.

Violet grinned. “How does she know what you’re like when you haven’t eaten, Shazza? I haven’t seen you without a burger in your mouth for at least seven years.”

Like the words of a magic spell, Violet’s awful joke cracked the tension in the room, and everyone laughed. Apart from Sharon. Sharon didn’t laugh.

“I’m a vegetarian, you skinny whore!” she screeched instead, only causing Violet to laugh harder.

“Veggie burgers are a thing Shaz, I thought you would know all about them. Your stomach resembles one.”

Sharon’s eyes widened at the insult, and Katya couldn’t stop herself from laughing now that they were back on familiar territory and off of the awful, rocky ledge.

“You horrid, rotted, cuntwhore,” Katya wheezed, her own tears of joy forming. “You have to hand it to her, she’s quite good at that.”

Sharon glowered, and was about to reply when Alaska interrupted. “Alyssa is calling you babe, I think she wants you to choose dinner. Go find her.”

Sharon sighed, and rolled off of the bed. Flipping off Vi as she went, and with a hearty slap on the butt from Alaska, she headed out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen.

“Make sure to order enough for all of us! I know you have no self control, but we all need to eat too!” Violet called after Sharon, collapsing into laughter as the door swung shut behind the dark haired girl. Violet looked over at Alaska and Katya, her eyes dancing with the fun of the situation. “I don’t actually think she’s fat. I just really enjoy riling her up.”

Alaska rolled her eyes.

“You think I didn’t know that? It would make my life easier if you didn’t.”

“But where, my dear Lask, is the fun in that?” Violet asked, pretty reasonably she thought. Alaska just sighed, and threw herself onto the bed.

“Can you just behave yourself for one evening? Just one, that’s all I ask for.”

Violet pretended to think about it, pulling her best thoughtful face, before she shook her head, still grinning. “Nope, I don’t think I can. She makes it too easy, it’s really all her fault.”

Violet’s declaration of not being able to behave herself really set the tone for the rest of the evening. The Mean Queens, Katya, and Alyssa all ended up on the couch, curled together beneath mountains of blankets as they watched their way through all Sharon’s favourite films, shared around plastic containers of Chinese food from Sharon’s favourite takeaway, and tried in vain to stop Violet making a joke every time Sharon took another spring roll. It ended up being one of the best night’s Katya had had since coming to America, and made her wish that she never had to leave the safe bubble Alyssa had managed to create for the girls who, despite all pretences, were actually misfits with nowhere else to go. But the contentment carried with it a nasty flavour for Katya, who couldn’t stop her mind drifting to the plan she had created with Adore and Ginger. The plan she had enabled. The plan that would never have become a plan without her involvement and her intel. As much as Katya was enjoying herself, she grew a little more self loathing every minute that passed. Who was she to disturb this peaceful family? Who was she to help Adore and Ginger get revenge on the Mean Queens when they had been nothing but welcoming and accepting of her? But at the end of the day, they were still the Mean Queens, and they were still evil.

“I think she’s asleep,” Alaska whispered halfway through the third film, her hands cradling Sharon’s head to stop the girl from slipping off of the couch. Sharon’s hands were still clutched around a half full container of chow mein, and Violet laughed.

“Stay there a minute,” she ordered, throwing the blankets off of herself and moving to stand in front of the couch. She snapped a quick picture of the couple with her phone, before nodding. “Alright, let’s get sleeping beauty up the stairs. Mom?“

Alaska shook her head. “You’re so mean to her. She actually looks like a sleeping beauty, she’s so cute.”

Violet’s expression softened. “She looks like she’s ten years old again. Doesn’t she, mom?”

“Bless her heart. Come on, she looks exhausted, poor baby. Let’s get her upstairs.”

Between the four of them, they managed to get Sharon off of the couch and into the bed that she and Alaska usually shared without much hassle, and without waking her. Alaska tucked the covers around her, softly kissing her forehead before turning back to smile at her friends.

“Thanks guys,” she said, opening her arms for a group hug. “I love you guys.”

“Love you too, Lasky,” Violet and Katya echoed, before they pulled back, the euphoria of the evening still washing over them.

“Katya, you know where the other room is, right? Usually these two like to sleep together - uh, in both ways I guess - so we have other rooms too.”

Katya nodded, swallowing as much of the mounting guilt as she could as she watched Alaska climb under the duvet besides Sharon. The tall blonde shuffled close, her arms reaching around to hold Sharon as she whispered goodnight to the rest of the group.

“See you bitches in the morning,” Violet finished with a yawn, looping her arm through her mom’s and leaving the room. Katya hesitated, her eyes fixed on Sharon and Alaska. Alaska frowned.

“You alright Kat?”

“I- yeah. I’m fine.” Katya cracked a smile before bolting from the room, the beautiful image of the love Sharon and Alaska shared burnt into her mind, the last thing she saw before she fell into a restless, haunted sleep.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which alaska wins, sharon prepares for an anniversary, katya learns who the mysterious phi phi is, and the world begins to come crumbling down..

“I didn’t know she could do a perfect splits! That was incredible.” Violet leaned in to Katya and Sharon at their lunch table, her eyes wide. 

Katya nodded. “Me neither! She just - went down! I honestly had no idea she could do that kind of thing.”

Sharon smirked. “I, uh, may have seen her do that before.”

With an exasperated grunt, Violet reached over to try and hit Sharon’s arm, who instantly started to laugh and shuffled away from her. Their impossibly high spirits from the previous night’s talent show had stayed with them right up until the next day, but Katya’s stomach still wouldn’t settle properly. Adore and Ginger’s plans loomed over her head, a dead weight stopping her from truly enjoying herself.

“Where even is Alaska?” Katya tried to stop the butterflies, craning her head around the cafeteria. “She - oh, there she is!”

The bow-legged blonde was hugging goodbye to the two other blondes besides her, who Katya could now correctly identify as Willam and Courtney. Her face split into a smile as she noticed her friends watching her. Within seconds of Alaska approaching their table, Sharon and Violet shot up from their seats to applaud her, their deafening cheers attracting the attention of everyone sat in the large room.

“Stop!” Alaska begged, hiding her face. “You’re so embarrassing! People are looking at us, sit down like normal people!”

Violet shrugged. “No way! We have a winner at our table, let us celebrate! You killed it last night!”

Sharon clapped her hands together in excitement. “I couldn’t take my eyes off you the entire performance! I didn’t even notice the other two, honestly. You were the biggest star up there, pumpkin. I’m so proud of you!”

Over in the corner, Katya spotted Willam and Courtney sat together, obviously able to hear every word the Mean Queens were saying. Willam rolled her eyes at Sharon’s comment and looked away, and Katya forced herself back into the moment.

Violet was staring at Sharon, her gaze so focused it almost looked as though she were trying to communicate telepathically. Sharon glanced back at her and they seemed to have some sort of silent conversation. Katya watched the exchange with a twinge of guilt, knowing instantly from Sharon’s tone that there was a hint of jealousy written in her words. No doubt that was due to Willam and Courtney.

“Anyway,” Violet changed the subject as they took their seats again, refusing to tear her gaze away from Sharon until the other mean queen gave up first, “You bitches have an anniversary pretty fucking soon. What’s happening?”

Sharon relented and shook her head, fully aware of what Violet was doing. “Nope. Not sharing. It’s a secret. I know I’m a loud-mouthed cunt at the best of times, but no way am I gonna blab about our one year anniversary plan I’ve made. It’s too good to share.”

Violet snorted, rolled her eyes, and then held her arm up in front of her like she was consulting a watch. Sharon cocked her head, confused by Violet’s antics.

“Uh, Vi?” Sharon asked, her thumb flipping the lid to her smoothie bottle up and down. Violet shushed her.

“I’m giving you five minutes until you crack and tell us all about your anniversary date because you have absolutely no willpower.”

Katya half screamed in laughter as Sharon’s eyes opened wide as Violet’s snide comment slammed home. She opened and shut her mouth, looking alarmingly like a fish Katya had seen in an aquarium recently, as Violet cackled.

“I’m not that bad, am I?” she asked, looking over to Alaska for reassurance. Alaska, as she so often did when Sharon and Violet started bickering, was painting her nails, and ignored her girlfriend completely.

“Yes, you are completely that bad,” Violet said with a wicked grin, flipping open the top of her own bottle and sipping at the viscous liquid inside. Sharon huffed, sliding down in her chair a little and folding her arms like a petulant toddler.

“Well, even if I wanted to tell you I couldn’t. It’s a surprise for Alaska.”

“Yeah, all I know is I have to turn up at this place looking fancy,” Alaska chimed in. Violet smirked.

“Lask, do you know where you have to turn up?” It was Katya’s turn to chip in, Violet’s facial expression telling her everything she needed to know. Alaska’s face fell, and she turned to Sharon.

“Did you tell me?” she asked, biting her lip and looking baffled.

“Alaska, we’ve- we’ve been through this at least three times,” Sharon sighed, trying to keep her tone steady and her voice quiet, although no one in the crowded cafeteria was paying attention to them now they were sat down. “I wrote the instructions in your phone, remember?”

Alaska’s face brightened as she brandished the device in Violet and Katya’s direction. “Yes! I do know where I’m going then.”

The whole table fell apart laughing at the sheer pride in Alaska’s face and voice, Katya’s screaming laugh piercing through the general chatter of the cafeteria. Even Violet’s laughter wasn’t gloating, instead just cracking up at Alaska’s complete innocence.

“You’d forget your head in the morning if it wasn’t screwed on, wouldn’t you?” Sharon grinned affectionately. “You’d better not forget our date. That’s the one thing you can’t forget.” 

Alaska shook her head violently. “I won’t, I couldn’t. I’ve almost been with you for an entire year! That’s… that’s a long time.”

“Yeah,” Violet nodded sarcastically, teasing the blonde. “That’s three hundred and sixty five days. Three hundred and sixty six in a leap year.”

Katya did her best to swallow her guilt. “A year is pretty long, really. I can’t believe the two of you have been insufferable for so long.”

Violet barked out a surprised laugh. “Well said, Kat! It’s more like we’re celebrating the fact that I’ve survived you two being openly fucking disgusting for so long.”

“Shut the fuck up, Vi.” Sharon joked, and shook her head. “No one cares about you. If you had the balls to ask out Pearl, it would be a different story. You’d actually understand this feeling.”

Violet’s mouth dropped open. “You bitch! I’m quite happy as I am! And if I’m not mistaken - which I’m not, because I know every fucking detail of this goddamn relationship - Alaska asked you out, not the other way around!”

Alaska turned to Katya, fluttering her lashes and looking entirely fed-up. She shook her head, pressing two of her long nails into a temple as if they were a gun. Katya held back her giggles, trying not to interrupt yet another one of Sharon and Violet’s pointless arguments.

“I’m so done with these two,” Alaska deadpanned, shaking her head at them. “I’m just gonna let them argue it out. But for the love of God, keep your voices down! Don’t go announcing that Sharon frequently has her hand up my vagina for the whole fucking world to hear.”

Violet snorted, folding her arms and slumping back against the seat, one eyebrow raised.

“If the rest of this godforsaken school had one brain cell to rub together between them, they’d all be able to see that. You’re not subtle, bitch.”

Katya zoned out as the three mean queens continued to bicker as she’d come to realise they spent 99% of their life doing, unable to stomach much more inane chatter about Sharon and Alaska keeping their relationship a secret when she knew full well they were into the countdown to the day when they were exposed to the whole school. It made her feel sick, and she abruptly pushed her tray away and stood up.

“I- I have to go to the bathroom,” she blurted out to the questioning looks of her three friends, before she bolted from the room, not wanting to vomit all over their perfect shoes.

“We’ll see you at home!” Alaska called after her retreating back, before returning to the conversation, no one any the wiser.

*****************************

Oh, how Katya wished she had a little more willpower. The strength to say that she felt upset about her actions, and that she wanted to stop. But she didn’t. Instead, with a heavy heart, she found herself texting Adore and Ginger a reminder that Sharon and Alaska’s anniversary was today, and letting the guilt swallow her up.

How could she justify this? Her chest felt tight at the very thought of it. Sharon was sitting extremely still, her eyes closed as Violet finished styling her hair with what seemed to be a whole can of hairspray, but the excitement on her face was as clear as day, and made Katya want to choke. Although thinking about it, that might have been the excessive amounts of hairspray in the air.

“I’m shaking. I’m so excited. I can’t wait. I can’t wait! This is gonna be so amazing.” Sharon practically squealed, batting Violet’s hands away so she could look at herself. “Is this - do I look okay? Is this good enough?”

Violet grinned. “You look beautiful! Don’t question me, you know you do. This looks great on you.”

To her credit, Violet had done well. Sharon refused to let her take full control of her makeup, but the two of them had sat together in front of Violet’s vanity mirror as she gave instructions on how to improve her beat with new techniques. After silencing any further protests, Violet had styled Sharon’s hair, forced her into a dress she’d made, and spritzed Katya’s arms with what felt like a million different perfumes until she found the right one. Katya was impressed.

“Okay, okay!” Sharon rushed out her words, seemingly unable to slow herself down. “I just want to make sure I look perfect. I can barely breathe. I need - I have to look perfect for Alaska.”

They were so in love. Katya didn’t know whether her heart was swelling with happiness or shrivelling up with guilt. She was going to ruin this happiness. She, single-handedly, was going to ruin it.

“Where is Alaska? Is she at home?” Katya forced her features into what she hoped was a happy, or at the very least neutral, expression. Every time she’d caught a glance of herself in the mirror, she’d looked miserable. Thankfully, Violet was too wrapped up in Sharon, and Sharon in the excitement of her anniversary, to notice Katya.

Violet cleared her throat. “Yeah, she is. Most of her clothes are here, but her pretty formalwear is in her wardrobe at home, since she doesn’t wear them all that often. I’m assuming she’s gonna get herself up dolled up there and then meet Sharon. How’re you feeling, Shaz?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s the plan. I am… a strange mixture of excited and absolutely terrified. I really want everything to go well.” Sharon said, her voice trembling. “I’ve been stressing about it all week, double checking everything.”

“You’re going out to dinner, right?” Violet pried.

Sharon nodded. “It sounds basic, but it’s an expensive place. I’ve saved a lot for it, and I thought ahead, too, so nothing will go wrong. They’re not gonna kick us out for being gay, the owner is apparently a gay guy and his husband. And it’s another theatre date, because Alaska loves it, but she doesn’t know about it yet. I had to bust my ass to get the seats that we’ve got. I’m just - I can’t wait. Nothing can go wrong. I’ve worked so hard on it all.”

I really want everything to go well. Nothing can go wrong. Nothing will go wrong. Did Sharon insist on making Katya feel so awful? The date would go perfectly. And then? Shortly afterwards? Katya was going to bring it crashing down on them, and watch their happiness crumble to pieces.

She was about to ask what show they were going to see, when the door to Violet’s room burst open and a cloud of expensive perfume and coiffed hair breezed into the room. Alyssa set a tray with three tall glasses and several plates of snacks down onto Violet’s dresser.

“Don’t mind me, I just thought you girls might like some refreshments-” she said as she span around to face the girls, her jaw dropping open as she caught sight of Sharon, and clapped her hands together. “Oh baby girl you look incredible! Vi, did you have a hand in this? She’s gorgeous! Let me take some pictures, come out here where the wall is plain so I can get a good one. Vi, get the good lighting and get your butt out here. Katya, could you move that plant baby? I want all the attention on my Sharon.”

Alyssa threw out instructions left, right, and centre, and all three girls snapped to attention and did what she told them to do. Violet rummaged in her gigantic closet for the ring light Alyssa had bought her for her thirteenth birthday, Katya moved all hazardous plant life out of the way of Alyssa’s shot, and Sharon stood against the wall and posed, slightly awkwardly at first. But the more photos Alyssa took, and the more she got Violet and Katya to adjust Sharon’s dress or hair, or change the lighting, the more Sharon got into it, striking as many poses as her limited frame of reference allowed her to.

“Okay, and that’s a wrap!” Alyssa called eventually, her voice sounding strangely muffled as she surreptitiously wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. Sharon cocked her head, staring at the older woman curiously.

“Alyssa, are you crying?” she asked, all the girls turning to face her, Violet and Katya smiling slightly.

“Sorry baby, this is - this is your special night, I need to get myself together,” Alyssa sniffed, lifting her head to the ceiling and dabbing at her tears, to ensure her makeup stayed intact. “I just - gosh, my girl’s all grown and looking beautiful, and so happy… I’m so proud of you. You deserve this, I hope this evening goes wonderful. You and Miss Alaska both.”

Sharon’s face lit up. “Thank you, Alyssa. I love you.”

Alyssa was upon her instantly, hugging her tightly whilst still careful enough to keep her hair and makeup pristine. Katya watched Sharon cling onto the woman in their embrace, and noticed Violet’s wistful smile.

“Katya,” Violet called, beckoning her back into her room. “Come here.”

Katya followed dutifully, part of her hoping that she was going to get an almighty slap from her. Of course, she knew that wasn’t going to happen, but she wished it would. That Violet would tell her she knew what she’d done, and she was going to stop it from happening, and Katya would lose three amazing friends but at least they’d all be okay.

“What’s up?” Katya asked as she sat cross legged on the floor next to where Vi was perched on the bed, doing her utmost best to keep her voice steady.

“I just-” Violet broke off, her voice sounding choked. Katya looked up, and saw to her surprise that Violet was struggling to hold back tears herself

“Are you okay Vi?” Katya asked cautiously, not entirely sure what was going on with the black haired girl. Violet nodded, sniffing deeply and wrapping her arms around herself.

“I just needed to get away for a second,” she said quietly, a new note to her voice that Katya couldn’t quite place, but knew she’d never heard there before. “It’s just- it’s a lot. This is a big deal for Sharon. She- she doesn’t trust people easily, which has a lot to do with her parents and the way they brought her up. Or rather, didn’t bring her up. So for her to have not just us, her best friends, but to have dated Alaska for a year and still be so in love with her- it’s just a lot.”

The more Violet spoke the worse Katya felt. The insane guilt had been building and building over the past few days, and this was truly the cherry on the fucking top. How could she sit back and watch Adore and Ginger ruin everything Alaska and Sharon, and even Violet, had worked so hard for with information that Katya had given them? She couldn’t. She’d never be able to live with herself. The whole endeavour was feeling more and more like a runaway train with broken brakes that was nearing the end of the tracks, but she was the only one that knew.

It was Violet’s turn to look at Katya curiously, the Russian’s conflicted feelings showing through on the way she looked like she was about to barf.

“Are you okay?” she asked after a few moments, having no idea why the girl looked so bad.

“Yeah it’s just- it’s just a bit hot,” Katya lied through her teeth, fanning herself with a discarded fan. She wasn’t lying, it was hot in the room. But she had a feeling that had less to do with the actual temperature, and a lot more to do with the secrets and lies she carried everywhere with her these days.

“Just hot. And I had no idea that Sharon had such a shitty past.”

Violet nodded, seeming to just accept Katya’s answer without further questioning.

“It’s not been easy for her,” she said carefully, knowing that Katya was one of Sharon’s closest friends now, but still not wanting to spill her secrets without her permission. “But things are a lot better now. And this evening is just a symbol of everything she’s gained, despite how much she’s lost,” Violet added, the proud note creeping back into her voice as Sharon and Alyssa grew closer, the pair of them still nattering away.

“Hey Shazza, you should get going or Alaska will get there before you! That is, if she doesn’t get fucking lost on the way,” Violet yelled, diverting Sharon’s attention away from Alyssa.

“I’ve told you not to call me Shazza,” she said automatically, grabbing her bag and haphazardly tossing everything she might need into it, as well as a lot of crap she knew she wouldn’t. “I need to get there before her or we’re guaranteed to lose her.”

Everyone stood still as Sharon gathered her things. “Okay,” She breathed, straightening her dress. “One last check in the mirror.”

She moved to stand in front of the full-length mirror that Alyssa had in the hallway, holding her breath. Almost absent-mindedly, Violet repositioned one of Sharon’s curls, and Alyssa adjusted the bottom of her dress.

“Perfect.” Violet whispered. “Ready?”

Sharon closed her eyes. “I think so.”

There was a flurry of goodbyes, fussing and double-checking everything in order before Sharon left, the last they saw of her being her nervous smile before she closed the door behind her and set off. When she was finally out of the door with absolutely everything she needed, Katya hesitated in the open frame, looking over at Violet.

“Hey… do you mind if I go run a few errands whilst she’s out? I’ll probably be back before she is.” She mumbled, her stomach twisting. More than anything, she needed to get out of the building and the presences that were making her feel so terrible. She had to do something, or the guilt would kill her.

Violet shrugged. “Sure, go ahead. I was just gonna catch up with Top Model with mom, anyway. You’ll be coming back after?”

Katya mustered a smile. “Y-Yeah. I will. Be, uh, coming back.”

Before she could make Violet any more confused - or suspicious - she dashed away. The need to take action had finally overcome every other worry Katya had, but she didn’t have long.

*****************************

Katya was panting when she arrived at Adore’s, completely red-faced and breathless. For a good part of the journey she’d sprinted, sheer adrenalin spurring her on, but now she was starting to regret that.

“Who - Katya?! You look… what are you doing here? Are you alright? Come in. GINGER! KATYA’S HERE!” Adore yelled, hardly pausing between her words. She shepherded Katya into the house and up the stairs as quickly as she could, so Katya could fling herself down onto Adore’s bed and catch her breath. Ginger shuffled aside to let her lie down.

“I just… needed to get out of there…” Katya breathed. For all Adore and Ginger knew, it was because she hated the Mean Queens. They didn’t need to know it was actually because of the crippling guilt, eating away at her insides like a parasite.

Ginger nodded understandingly. “No worries, we weren’t doing anything important. Just going through old pictures.”

She nodded towards an album that Adore had open, flipping through some of the pages with her thumb. For a few moments, they ignored Katya in favour of their pictures, but upon looking at one of the pictures, Adore’s expression changed.

“Hey, Kat. C’mere.” She called, lifting the photo from the album pages and studying it. “Take a look at this.”

Katya leant over to look at the picture. It looked like it had been taken at some kind of school event - a fair perhaps, or a charity night - and featured six girls, their arms all linked together or draped over one another. With a jolt, Katya started to recognise them all. Violet was on the far left, almost unrecognisable at first. She was grinning, her rounder, softer face patterned with freckles, and her arms draped over the skinny shoulders of a girl who could only be Alaska. That long, tangled blonde hair and bow-legged stance could only belong to one person. Next to her was Sharon, gap-toothed and caught in the midst of laughing, next to a tiny, brown-haired girl Katya didn’t recognise. On the other side of the smiling girl, arms linking the three together, Adore and Ginger posed, both grinning from ear to ear and looking happier than Katya had ever seen them.

Katya flipped the picture over to read the date on the back, and then flipped it once more. “You were all thirteen?”

Ginger pointed at the girl in the middle. “Yeah, thirteen. This was before the Mean Queens were actual Mean Queens. They were just mean. That girl in the middle - Phi Phi - is the one who really gave them their name. She had it bad.”

Phi Phi. Katya knew that name, but she didn’t know anything about her. Something about Ginger’s tone sounded ominous, and Katya knew that couldn’t be good.

“We weren’t - we weren’t friends with the Mean Queens, even back then,” Adore explained. “We tolerated each other, just about. Phi Phi kinda linked everyone together.”

“And not just us.” Ginger added. “Everyone got along with her. She was funny, she didn’t take anyone’s shit and liked to cuss people out, but only when they deserved it. People liked her.”

Adore’s face darkened. “Yeah, until they didn’t. A certain loud-mouthed, self-entitled bitch didn’t like being cussed out by Phi Phi when she talked smack, so she’d swear back. Then things started to get heated.”

She mimed drawing an ‘X’ between Sharon and Phi Phi, as though she were splitting the pair apart. “And you know what happened to Phi Phi?”

Katya was trembling, although she didn’t really know why. The girls had a way of making her so frightened of the queens she called friends, it made her shiver. “W-What happened to her?”

“She moved schools, with no warning at all. Didn’t even say goodbye. Didn’t tell anyone.” Adore finished.

“Not just schools.” Ginger corrected her. “She moved house, too. I’m pretty sure she left the state. Didn’t stay in contact with anybody. Not even us.”

Adore sighed heavily. “We tried to talk to her but… nothing. I get why she left, though. She - she had issues, though she never really told us what they were. She would get so mad so easily, she just couldn’t deal with extreme emotions at all. She’d fly off the handle at the slightest insult, or get upset and bitter over one little criticism for an entire week. If she’d have stayed… god. I don’t even think - I don’t even think she’d be alive right now. She left last year, not long after she turned sixteen. No one’s heard from her since.”

Katya was stunned into complete silence. Adore took that as a signal to continue, latching onto this chance to show Katya again just why the Mean Queens were so bad. In her eyes, it all boiled down to their persecution of Phi Phi, and outing them was worth it just to get revenge for their old friend.

“It was bad.” The anger in Adore’s voice was thinly veiled, and her dark eyes flashed with every sentence. “It was bad enough when Sharon ripped Phi Phi to shreds, with her two apes on either side joining in. And Phi Phi can give as good as she gets, but she- after a while, she had nothing left to give, and only everything to get. But that wasn’t enough for Sharon.” Adore broke off, and Ginger took over once more.

“She got the whole school involved,” Ginger said, hot tears burning at the edges of her eyes as the memories came flooding back. “She- Sharon turned everyone against Phi Phi, even the people who were supposed to be her friends. She couldn’t go more than three steps without being teased or insulted or pushed or- you get the picture. It was awful Kat. Even when Sharon, Alaska, and Violet stopped personally bullying her it- the campaign Sharon started didn’t finish until after Phi Phi had gone. It just broke her.”

Katya listened to the story with a dawning horror in her heart. This was it, the true origin story of the Mean Queens. Where their real reputation came from. What they’d done to Trixie, what they continued to do to Adore and Ginger on a daily basis was clearly nothing compared to what they’d done to this girl Phi Phi. To force someone to move schools and states- Katya couldn’t quite imagine the level the harassment must have been at.

“And that’s why you hate them,” Katya said. It wasn’t a question, she could feel the anger radiating off of Adore and Ginger and filling the room. If she was honest with herself, the story had filled her with a sense of anger that she couldn’t quite place, but knew she had to hold on to. But there was still a small part of her that was hesitant.

“That’s why we hate them,” Adore confirmed. “Hey, you alright Kat?” she added, noting the queasy look on Katya’s face.

“I- yeah. I’m fine. This…this is the right thing to do, isn’t it?” she asked, trying not to show the mix of emotions that were bubbling below her skin and threatening to burst out.

“You’re not getting cold feet now, after that story, are you?” Ginger asked in disbelief, Adore’s face a comical mask of shock. Katya quickly shook her head, her heart pounding.

“No, no, no. I - that’s terrible, and I - just, um, can’t… you know. Shock.” She finished weakly, unable to draw out the proper words to convey how she felt. Even if she couldn’t say exactly what she felt, Adore and Ginger were still her friends and still deserved some truth.

“I guess… morally, um, I feel weird but - but that’s… that’s so bad.”

Ginger nodded. “Yeah, I understand. We miss her, this is the right thing to do. They made Phi Phi’s life actual hell. Worse than mine, worse than Adore’s, worse than Trixie’s.” 

Adore’s expression softened a little. “Ginger… what do you think Phi Phi would say about all this?”

Katya watched Ginger’s face move from angry to a kind of bittersweet sadness. She smiled, but her eyes were bleak, glazed over from being so upset.

“Uh… ‘Sharon Needles is a fucking cunt’, probably.” She joked. “I don’t know, Adore. If we could tell her, I know I would.”

It was clear that Adore and Ginger had really cared for Phi Phi. Katya was already unsettled, but she couldn’t stop her traitorous lips from opening against her will.

“How… how did they get her so bad? I heard there was - there was some big fight.” She stuttered, half of her not even wanting to know.

Ginger sucked in a breath and hid her face, as if hiding from Katya’s invasive question. Adore winced and placed a hand on her shoulder, looking at Katya with her large, sorrowful eyes.

“There was. It was brutal and everyone witnessed it. Phi Phi was - was reduced to nothing. I don’t want to get into it.”

Christ, it must have been bad. Adore and Ginger took any chance they could to tell Katya about the Mean Queens, seeming to enjoy relishing in their hatred for the three. If it was so upsetting that they didn’t even want to tell Katya - it must have been horrendous.

“Sorry I asked.” Katya apologised, looking down at the picture which had fallen from Adore’s grasp and onto Katya’s lap. 

They all looked so happy. Each one, smiling away like nothing could possibly be wrong, or could ever go wrong. Sharon with her arms around Phi Phi and Alaska. Adore and Ginger having the time of their lives. Even Violet, whose smile was rare, beaming from ear to ear. Yet half of the girls in the picture had forcibly torn apart the lives of the other half, earning themselves a title that only they could wear well. Mean Queens. And that was what they were.

Katya didn’t bring up the Mean Queens again for the few hours she spent with Adore and Ginger. She’d hoped by not talking about them that they would fade from her mind, as would the guilt and the shame, but it didn’t. When her mind drifted from the Mean Queens, it was distracted by Adore and Ginger, and in turn their plans for the following day. Time was running out and Katya had been careless with it.

“I-I should go, I bet Violet will be wondering where I am,” Katya announced, standing up shakily.

Adore pulled a face. “Ugh, poor you. At least this is almost over.”

“Just two more nights.” Ginger affirmed.

Two more nights.

“See you guys tomorrow.” Katya mumbled. If only tomorrow would never come. If tomorrow didn’t, the day after wouldn’t. And if the day after wouldn’t, Katya hadn’t really done anything wrong at all. At least - that was what she could pretend.

****************************************

Katya let herself in Violet’s house using the key she’d been given a few weeks ago, her footsteps echoing around the empty hallway as she crossed the marble tiles. It was always so strange to be in Violet’s house when Alaska and Sharon weren’t there too. It was too quiet, too still.

“Vi?” Katya called into the silence, her hand running along the polished mahogany of the banister.

“In here.” Violet’s voice came from her room.

Katya entered to see the queen reclining back on a mountain of plush cushions, bowl of popcorn by her side and Top Model blaring from the TV balanced on the dresser. She’d changed into sweatpants and a vest top, and her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She looked so much softer than she did during the day, softer and younger. She didn’t look like someone capable of ruining another person’s life to the point where they had no choice but to move away.

“Come sit,” Vi patted the bed beside her, shifting over slightly to make room for the Russian. Katya obeyed, and slumped back against the cushions, draping her legs over Violet.

“I don’t think I’ve ever watched this,” Katya said, squinting at the girls lining up on the TV. Violet threw a popcorn kernel or two in the direction of the set, and snorted.

“They’re all pretty awful. Honestly, Adore and Ginger could do a better job using nothing but Ginger’s pubes to help them out,” she said, Katya looking over at her in confusion before she caught sight of the shit eating grin on her face, and realised she’d been joking.

“You’re awful,” Katya groaned, the sick feeling in her gut easing slightly. Violet was so easy to get along with outside of the school environment, and Katya genuinely enjoyed spending time with the girl.

“Honestly though, it’s a little boring,” Violet said, her tone switching to a more genuine one. “They’re all pretty and skinny and that’s about it. Like, there’s nothing wrong with being pretty and skinny, and that’s how we made ourselves so popular at school, but it’s not like, a challenge for a designer. I’d love to be a designer and have something a little more diverse than skinny white Anna Brown from Chicago wearing the same fucking outfit twelve times in different colours. That’s not diversity.”

Katya was surprised at how insightful she was. Violet had always struck her as the type to think beauty was a small niche of thin, attractive-by-western-standards white women with no emotion. She seemed incredibly passionate about this other side of fashion.

“-I mean!” She was still talking. “Who’s to say that a dress will look worse if the model is 300 pounds and black? If you can only make clothes to look good on one body type, you’re a shitty designer. If you can even call yourself a designer. It’s everything that’s fucking wrong with the fashion industry and it makes me so mad when I read articles about new, innovative designers with all these new clothes and ideas and I look at their runway and it’s the same five fucking models strutting down the catwalk and it’s so boring.” Violet broke off, panting slightly, and looked over at Katya’s open mouthed shock with a sheepish expression.

“Sorry, Sharon usually doesn’t let me rant around other people,” Violet continued with a laugh, pulling at some of the strands of wispy hair falling over her face. “I’ve spent so much time designing outfits and immersing myself in the fashion world and it’s all just- it’s just boring. I’m so ready to graduate and start my own company that will have actual diversity. Not just the bullshit everyone else spouts.”

Katya was taken aback by this new side of Violet, a fiery, passionate side that clearly hungered for the sort of change Katya never thought she would have stood for. The Mean Queens had always been full of surprises, and clearly this was no different. Yet- Violet was talking about wanting change in the fashion industry, when she’d built a name for herself in school being mean to anyone who was different. Katya didn’t even want to pretend she understood.

“Can I see some of your designs?” Katya asked instead, not wanting to get into the in’s and out’s of Violet’s moral compass. Violet nodded, and rolled off of the bed to grab a notebook that was stashed away at the top of a drawer chock full of fabric and sewing equipment.

She came back to the bed and sat cross-legged, perching the sketchbook on her knees as she flipped through page after colourful page of hand-drawn models, clothing designs, colour swatches, fabric samples- the list went on. Katya looked over her shoulder, her eyes wide open with awe.

“Vi, this is amazing,” she breathed, her eyes dancing over pictures of models encompassing every body type and skin colour under the sun, each outfit drawn on top looking as incredible as the next. Clearly Violet practiced what she preached.

“It’s just something I do in my spare time at the moment,” she shrugged, pausing now and again to explain an element of an outfit to Katya, or show her some particularly pretty swatch of fabric, or tell her why she’d chosen a particular shape for a particular model. Her breadth of knowledge was impressive, and Katya could see her going far. It did nothing to ease the knot of guilt twisting itself tighter and tighter in Katya’s stomach.

“Do you ever make clothes, or do you just design them?” Katya asked as they reached the end of the sketchbook, and Violet tucked it away again.

“Occasionally I make stuff. I know how to, but I don’t have many people to design for right now, and the fabric and all the trimmings gets expensive. I do like to make stuff for Sharon and Alaska, but I mostly just adjust my own clothes so they fit perfectly,” she explained, leaning against the closet. “Mom’s the one who tends to make stuff. She’s not even a designer but she taught me everything.”

After pausing a moment, she looked back to Katya. “I think Alaska wants to do something in theatre or music, and Shaz… huh. I have no idea what she wants to do. I don’t think she’s ever mentioned it. What about you?”

Katya hummed. “I guess - something artistic? I like to get creative, produce something weird and wonderful that no one really understands, but they appreciate anyway because they didn’t think of it and I did. Something like that.”

Violet laughed. “Weird and wonderful is you summed up, Kat. No one really understands you - except maybe Trixie - but we appreciate you anyway. Do you do any kind of art in particular?”

Katya hadn’t gotten around to doing much art since moving to America. Back in Russia, she didn’t really have many friends, and could devote as much time as she wanted to drawing, painting or working on performance pieces. There she’d really developed her passion, and America was going to be as good a place as any to continue the dream. The slight wrench that had been thrown into her plans was that she had managed to get herself wedged between two tight friendship groups in a fierce rivalry. The Mean Queens versus Adore and Ginger, the Montagues versus the Capulets. Wow… she’d really been spending too much time around Sharon.

“I do a lot, it’s never really one thing. Performance art is fun. I like to paint, to draw… It’s similar to your fashion thing. There’s not just one way you can do it, and so many different directions it can go in. You know?” She answered. “I mean, have you ever just sat down and painted? I could do it for hours, especially with watercolours. It sounds boring but it’s so good, it’s so good. Even though it does get a little frustrating when you can’t get the colours to blend together properly but it’s like makeup, you just have to keep going… although I’m really not that good at makeup. I want to be. I wish it was as easy to do makeup as it was to paint on a canvas or something. You can see the canvas without the use of a mirror. It’s just -”

Katya stopped. She could hear footsteps pounding up the stairs, as if someone was running. Violet fell silent too, her face screwing up as she listened.

The door to Violet’s bedroom burst open.

The two girls inside whipped their heads around to see Sharon explode into the room and fall headlong into Violet’s arms. The hair that had once been perfectly curled and styled was totally ruined, as though she’d been tearing her hands through it nonstop. As she entered, Katya saw she was barefoot, her heels clutched in either hand until she flung them to the floor without a care. Although she only caught a glimpse of the Mean Queen’s face, the meticulously-done makeup around her eyes was streaming down her cheeks in a flurry of black pigment and tears. Something had gone horribly wrong.

“Sharon?” Violet’s voice was confused, a tinge of worry striking fear into Katya’s heart. The pair of them exchanged a look over the top of the sobbing girl’s head, both baffled as to what had happened. “Sharon, you have to talk to me.”

Violet was practically begging now, the hint of fear growing ever larger as Sharon’s frame shook with the force of her tears. Katya saw the bone white of Sharon’s knuckles as the girl clung to Violet as though she were a life raft, a damp patch spreading across the front of Violet’s gray tank top.

“Sharon, please.” It was Katya’s turn to beg, and she moved across the bed to kneel closer to Sharon and Violet, moving Sharon’s hair away from her tear soaked face so she could see the girl better. Sharon’s phone was still clutched in her other hand, and Katya could see that she was trying to talk to them, but to no avail.

“Hold on, she’s trying. Sharon? Come on, I-” Katya tried again, watching as the dark haired girl tried and failed to pull herself together. Violet looked around desperately, and upon spotting a bit on unused fabric poking out from her book, she snatched it up and tried to wipe at the tears on Sharon’s face.

“What’s going on? What happened?” She demanded, clutching onto Sharon as tightly as she clung onto her. “Talk to me, please. Say something.”

Katya frowned as she tried to read Sharon’s lips. It was evident she was trying to speak, but no sound came out and it was impossible to decipher her words by how much she was trembling. It was only when Katya caught wind of one particular name that she suddenly felt the icy fingers of dread grasp at her chest.

“Willam.” Katya whispered. “Vi. She said Willam. Check her phone. What’s going on?”

In an instant, Violet snatched Sharon’s phone and unlocked it, her eyes darting this way and that as she searched through it. Katya felt as though her stomach was going to fall through the floor as her eyes stayed firmly fixed on Sharon.

“S-Snapchat. Vi, this is-”

“Shut up.” Violet hissed. “I’m looking, I’m looking. Sharon, please try - I… oh no.”

Katya immediately moved so she could see the screen more clearly over Violet’s shoulder, her heart sinking as she caught sight of Willam, Courtney, and Alaska posed in a screenshot from Willam’s snapchat story. The three of them looked as though they were having a great time together, grinning and laughing and each one looking their own kind of beautiful. Katya might have smiled, had the context of the picture not horrified her.

Forgetting momentarily about Sharon, Violet glared into the screen as though her fiery gaze could erase the picture. “What. The fuck.”

Katya and Violet exchanged glances, huddled over the phone. There was a beat of horrified silence, and then a wobbly, barely audible voice made them both turn in an instant.

“She never showed up.”

Violet tossed the phone aside and allowed Sharon to collapse against her again, her tears not ceasing as she managed to choke out a few more words. “I waited - I waited for h-hours…”

That seemed to be all she could say. With a heart-breaking sob, she buried her face in Violet’s chest and cried bitterly, her body shaking so hard Katya was worried she was about to break apart. Violet shook her head as tears of her own began to form, and she started to rub Sharon’s back in the feeble hope of providing some sort of comfort.

“Katya. Get my mom, now.”

No way was Katya going to disobey that tone. She shot up from where she was sat and sprinted down the staircase, almost tripping several times in her haste to find Alyssa. The woman in question had heard her thundering footsteps, and rose from her seat in the lounge to meet her.

“Katya! Baby, slow down before you fall and break your neck. Is everything okay?” Alyssa asked, trying to steady her frantic gestures.

Katya shook her head, doing her best to be quick. “It’s Sharon, she - she’s back and - I don’t - come now!”

She made no sense, but Alyssa didn’t need telling twice. Even faster than Katya had ran down, Alyssa flew up to find Sharon and Violet, her fiercely protective nature activated in mere seconds. Completely out of breath, Katya followed, taking the steps two at a time as she sprinted after Alyssa. Somewhere inside of her Katya knew she should be letting Adore and Ginger know what was going on and feed them this new ammunition, but she couldn’t even think about that. Her mind was completely overtaken by worry for Sharon, worry that only increased when she entered the room to find everyone had switched places.

Violet was now pacing beside the bed, and Sharon was curled up in the centre of it with her head on Alyssa’s lap, looking so lost and broken. The older woman was stroking her hair as she tried in vain to calm Sharon down, but it didn’t matter what she said, Sharon showed no signs of her tears stopping. Violet caught Katya’s eye as the Russian entered, and beckoned her over.

“Come with me, I’m going to phone that bitch,” Violet growled, keeping her voice down so Sharon didn’t overhear. Again, Katya obeyed instantly, not wanting to anger Violet any further. The pair of them left Alyssa and Sharon in the room and made their way down the hall, Violet’s nails jabbing so violently at the phone Katya was surprised she didn’t crack it.

“Hello?” Alaska’s chirpy voice crackled down the line, a complete contrast to her broken girlfriend lying only a few feet away. Katya could almost feel Violet’s anger intensify, and saw how she was struggling to keep it together.

“Hello, Alaska. Are you having fun?” On the surface, Violet’s voice appeared calm, but Katya could almost feel the tension underpinning her words, and she shivered involuntarily.

“Loads! We all have to hang out soon, Will and Court are so much fun and-” Alaska was about to continue when Violet interrupted, unable to stand her cheery chatter for much longer.

“And there was nothing else you had to do today?”

“No? I don’t- shit.” Alaska went silent for a few seconds as the realisation sank in. “Shit. Violet I-”

“Fucking save it. You’ve done it now, don’t you even think about coming here. Stay the fuck away from her.”

Violet ended the call and turned back to Katya, breathing heavily, her eyes flashing with anger. She was terrifying, and Katya was glad that right now, it wasn’t her on the other end of this rage.

“Sharon.” Violet said, making the huge effort to try and regulate her voice, and calm herself down. “She’s the most important person now.”

Katya nodded, and followed Violet back into the bedroom. Sharon and Alyssa were in the same place, Alyssa’s long fingers combing through Sharon’s black curls and her soothing voice reverberating around the room. Sharon seemed to have calmed down a little, and her tears seemed to have stopped, the puffy redness of her eyes the only giveaway that she’d been sobbing only minutes earlier. Katya and Violet perched themselves precariously on the bed beside Sharon and Alyssa, both of them exchanging a worried glance before turning their attention back to Sharon.

“How are you feeling?” Violet asked carefully, grabbing a pack of wipes from the bedside table and carefully removing Sharon’s smeared eye makeup.

“She didn’t show up for dinner. She didn’t show up at all. She - she-” Sharon’s voice broke. “I knew this would happen eventually.”

Katya frowned, looking to Alyssa and Violet for answers she wasn’t sure she was going to get. The mother and daughter both looked distraught, watching one another with wide eyes to try and gauge a reaction. Neither of them seemed to know what to do.

“Is this my fault?” Sharon asked after a moment’s silence, looking between Alyssa and Violet, who were vehemently shaking their heads. “I don’t- it’s my fault. I know it is,” she mumbled, not seeming to pay attention to their outright denial.

Katya looked between the three of them, even more confused than she had been in the beginning. Quite clearly this was not Sharon’s fault, so why was she so insistent that it was? Luckily, Violet saw her expression, and quickly took pity on the confused Russian.

“It’s a lot to do with her past again,” Violet said quietly, Alyssa nodding her head in agreement. “Shaz, is it alright to tell Kat?”

Sharon nodded her head a little, and moved her hands to cover her ears, her head turning so that she could bury her face in Alyssa’s stomach. Katya’s heart just about broke at the pathetic sight of the once great Mean Queen reduced to nearly nothing. Violet smiled sadly, resting her hand on Sharon’s leg.

“It’s alright, she just hates hearing it,” Violet quickly explained before Katya could tell her not to say anything. “You- you’ll understand if we tell you. And right now she needs people who understand.”

Violet broke off and took a deep breath. Over the years Violet and Alyssa had gleaned bits and pieces of the story from Sharon, putting them together to paint the sad picture of her childhood, and Violet had never had to say it out loud before. Especially not in these circumstances.

It had started seventeen years earlier, with a woman who didn’t want to be a mother. It started with an infant who cried, who needed to be fed and held and comforted, and a mother who had no interest in doing any of those things - only the bare minimum required to keep her daughter alive. It started with a child who laughed and a child who cried, and a child who was told to keep quiet whenever she did either of those things. It started with Sharon, who quickly learnt that in this world, she had to take care of herself because there was no-one else there to do it for her. Sharon, who learnt how to cook pasta despite scalding herself on the boiling water. Sharon, who begged her mom year after year to just talk to her until one day she didn’t anymore. Sharon, who had never known what a friend was until she stole her crown back from the tiny girl with big brown eyes and long dark hair. Sharon, who had never been hugged, or felt love from another human being until her new friend’s mother accepted her with her whole heart and no questions. Sharon, the bully who had once been the victim.

“So she finds it really hard to trust people, because she never had anyone teach her,” Violet concluded the story, passing a tissue over to Katya who hadn’t even realised there were tears forming at the edges of her eyes.

“And she’s always worried that people are going to leave her,” Alyssa added, her own voice choked. “It took us years before she truly felt comfortable and knew that we loved her with everything we have. The day I knew she really trusted us was one of the best days of my life.”

The three of them shared a smile, before Violet looked back down at Sharon.

“Alaska has never really been told the story of Sharon’s childhood, because she wasn’t there in those first few years and Sharon doesn’t like talking about it. So I know- I know she doesn’t really understand what she’s done, and how this is going to affect Sharon. She couldn’t have picked a worse day, or a worse way to break Sharon’s heart. I mean, fucking Willam.” 

Violet broke off, and her eyes widened in fear. Katya met them, wondering what nightmarish thought had dawned on Violet now.

“Kat- oh god,” Violet’s voice was filled with a new fear that turned the blood in Katya’s veins to ice. “Willam. Everyone knows Sharon hates Willam but- it’s more than that. They used to be friends. We all used to be friends. But Willam doesn’t know when to leave shit alone and pushed her for information about her family and well- Sharon couldn’t handle that. She can’t handle people pushing and probing, and Willam doesn’t like being told no, so she dug it up. Now she hates Willam for knowing too much, and she’s constantly afraid that Willam will tell people. This is so much worse than I thought.”

Katya tried to swallow, and then tried to swallow again. It felt as though her throat was closing up, as her eyes started to fill with tears at every word Violet spoke. The fact that Sharon had been this strong character, this pretty and popular and powerful figure in the school without a care in the world, whilst hiding all that under the surface - that was incredible. The fact that she’d broken to pieces so quickly - that was tragically understandable. It made sense, and in turn made Katya want to cry.

She checked Sharon was still covering her ears before speaking again. “And she’s jealous, isn’t she? Or, um, paranoid.”

Violet chewed her lip. “Paranoid. Willam could tell Alaska everything, and on top of that she’s pretty and she’s funny. She could easily convince Alaska that Sharon isn’t worth it, and - you know the rest.”

Maybe she’d heard everything, or maybe it was just a coincidence, but at the mention of her name, Sharon removed her hands from her ears and breathed in a deep, shuddering breath.

“It’s - I’m used to people leaving. But it’s - it’s really gonna hurt when you do, Vi. That’s really gonna hurt.”


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which the crumbling world of sharon, alaska, katya, and violet falls down completely

10th December. Too late now. The words on Katya’s screen were too bright, a glaring reminder of what she’d done. They were taunting her, waiting for the impending guilt to finally make her crack. Too late now. Everything was already in motion.

For once, Katya was grateful that she’d naturally woken up early. No one else in the house made a sound, clearly still asleep as they should’ve been at such an ungodly hour. Katya had lain awake in her bed for hours, listening to Violet and Sharon in the room next to her. The pair had been whispering and sobbing late into the night and into the early hours of the morning, so Katya assumed they were both exhausted. This was her chance. Her last, and only, chance. 

She dressed as quickly as she could, smearing makeup haphazardly around her face and throwing her hair in the easiest style she could think of in a bid to be ready before anyone else woke. In a way, it felt like she was in a race against time. Not just against the others waking up, but against the goal she’d been working towards since befriending these girls. Ruining their lives. She had mere hours before everything would fall apart, and Katya didn’t want to know what would happen to cracked glass when it shattered.

The second she was out of the door Katya’s hands were on her phone, ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach as she pressed call. Somehow, she didn’t think this was going to solve anything, but she knew that she had to try.

“Adore. Ginger. Meet me at school, as quickly as you can. I mean it. We need to talk, now.”

Two groggy voices attempted to answer, but Katya was having none of it. “Just do it. This is serious. You know what today is.”

God, she was making it sound like the end of the world. Like it was Judgement Day, and the fate of the Mean Queens was going to be decided once and for all. They were going to be lifted from the earth and their deeds exposed to everyone, the entire school collectively judging them in any way they wanted. And every single bit of dirt that had been dug up on the girls had been lovingly provided by Katya. The enabler.

“Do you have more information for us?” Adore’s voice crackled down the line, her attempt to shake the sleep from her voice evident in the raspy tone. Katya hesitated, not wanting to lie, but needing to know that they would actually turn up at the school before any of the Mean Queens could.

“Uh- yes,” the lie was out before Katya could stop it, the single word hanging in the silence between them as Katya prayed that Adore and Ginger would swallow it.

There was a tense moment of silence, and Katya swore her heart was about to stop.

“Fine,” Adore eventually replied, a murmur of consent sounding in the background from Ginger. “We’ll be there in five, meet you in the usual toilets. Today has to go smoothly, and the more information the better.”

With that came a click down the line as Adore hung up, and Katya stashed her phone back in her pocket as she continued on down the road towards the school, actually grateful for the walk this morning. It was giving her the chance to clear her head and gather her thoughts as she decided exactly how she was going to phrase her words to make Adore and Ginger see that they couldn’t hurt the Mean Queens any further, that Sharon and Alaska were already suffering enough.

Katya just couldn’t quell the feeling that it wasn’t going to go well, that Adore and Ginger wouldn’t see what they were doing was wrong. It had taken Katya long enough to realise what she was doing wasn’t right, and Adore and Ginger were invested in this in a way she wasn’t. They were the ones who had had to deal with constant and daily teasing, they were the ones ridiculed by the school because of the words of Alaska, Sharon, and Violet, and they were the ones who had seen what the Mean Queens had done to Phi Phi. Deep down, Katya knew they weren’t going to think rationally about what they were doing, but she still had to try. The Mean Queens were truly her friends, and she owed them that at least, even if they would never speak to her again.

All too soon the familiar gates to the school loomed above Katya, and she had to pause and take a few deep breaths, her stomach twisting and turning and making her feel like she was about to be sick. If this went well, she would possibly lose two friends. If it went badly, she would definitely lose five.

“Kat!” Adore’s familiar voice sounded from behind her, and Katya plastered on a grin before turning around to see Adore and Ginger walking down the road in her direction.

“Hey guys,” she greeted, lifting a limp hand in a feeble imitation of a wave. “Let’s- let’s go somewhere private and talk.”

There were nods of consent all around, and Katya led the way into the school, heading for a bank of toilets in the science block that no one ever really went into as they were rumoured to be haunted. Supposedly a student had hung themselves in there, but Katya thought that was bullshit. Nevertheless, she was grateful that they wouldn’t be disturbed.

“Well?” Ginger asked expectantly, causing both pairs of eyes to land on Katya. The Russian turned red and stumbled over her words, suddenly flustered.

“Okay, okay, just - just hear me out. I may have lied a little bit on the phone, but this is -”

Adore cut her off. “Start talking. We don’t have long until people start arriving.”

Katya sucked in a breath. It was now or never. “Look… I know that you hate Sharon with a burning passion but -”

For a second time, Katya was interrupted. Adore scoffed and started to laugh, her eyebrows raised incredulously.

“Really? You figured that out? God, you’re good. Here was I thinking that we gave off the impression of loving that bitch.” She snapped, clearly irritated. “Get to the point, Katya. Please.”

Katya’s impatience was growing as Adore kept interrupting her needlessly, a simmering rage beginning to bubble through her veins. Adore and Ginger had no right to ruin Alaska and Sharon’s lives in the way they wanted to, and it was up to Katya now to stop them through whatever means possible.

“The whole point of this was to hurt them the way they’ve hurt you two and Trixie and Phi Phi and so many other people in the school, right?” Katya posed the question, hoping that this was the right way to get her meaning across. She wasn’t sure what else she could do.

Adore and Ginger nodded slowly, both of their expressions morphing into confusion at Katya’s question.

“You dragged us in here early to ask us if the point of this is to hurt the Mean Queens?” Ginger asked in shock, not entirely sure that Katya hadn’t completely lost her mind.

“Fuck this shit, Ginger and I have plans to put in place,” was all Adore had to say, and she made to move to the door. But Katya placed a hand on her chest to stop her, surprised at her own boldness.

“Listen to me!” Katya nearly screamed, feeling like her chance to stop Adore and Ginger was slipping further and further out of her reach. The pair paused, their confusion turning to incredulity as Katya continued.

“If the point of this was for them to hurt in the way that you’ve hurt, then mission fucking accomplished, and we don’t need to do shit. They’re hurting, alright? They’ve- I think they’ve split up. Alaska stood Sharon up for their anniversary date and now they’re both in pieces over it. I’ve never heard anyone cry like Sharon did last night, honestly. She’s just - she’s fucking broken. You can’t- we can’t hurt them any more, this isn’t fair,” Katya’s words burst out in a torrent, but instead of being greeted with agreement from Adore and Ginger, her explanation was met with cackling laughter that chilled her to her core.

“You can’t be serious?” Adore asked, her gaze fixed firmly on Katya. They’d been planning this for so long, she couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing.

“You know what they’ve done Kat, any extra pain on top is just- it’s what they deserve,” Ginger chimed in, Adore nodding.

Katya looked between them in desperation, knowing that she was losing them. She had only one last ace up her sleeve, and whilst she knew Sharon would never forgive her for letting Adore and Ginger into the secret of her past, if it would stop Sharon and Alaska from being outed then it was worth it.

“W-What about Sharon’s f-” Katya tried to stop the ship from sinking, rushing out her words before she could regret them, but was cut off a third time. Adore’s tone, like her stare, was icy.

“Her family? Oh, right. Her negligent mom who doesn’t give a shit about her. Her rumoured alcoholic father who at very least, if he isn’t a drinker, works late every night and smells like perfume that doesn’t belong to the negligent mom. Her siblings that grew up and left home years ago and forgot she existed. Yeah, I know all about them. Doesn’t make it an excuse for the shitty way she treats people, does it? You could argue she’s as bad as they are.”

At her shocked silence, Ginger took over. “We’ve known her for a lot longer than you’d think, Katya. You have zero solid proof that she’s a good person. We have mountains of evidence suggesting that she’s not. You can’t hide behind a bad background as an excuse to bully people. You can’t do that.”

The worst part of the sick wake-up call was that Adore and Ginger were right, in a way. What they were doing was wrong - so incredibly wrong that Katya could hardly stomach it - but they’d raised some fairly truthful points. Even so, outing them just seemed like too much. It was too much. Guilt, fear and shame wrestled in a tight ball in the pit of her stomach as she realized that Adore and Ginger were resolute.

“Face it, Katya.” Adore spat. “This is happening whether you fucking like it or not. You picked a real shitty day to get cold feet. Ginger, c’mon. We have things to discuss away from flaky ears.”

Ginger pulled a face. “Flaky ears sounds so gross.”

“Fuck off.” Adore told her. “Let’s go. Katya, thanks for the extra info. Today is gonna be fun.”

******************************************************

Katya had heard the first whisper around second period. Her seat happened to be right in front of a group of stereotypically tall, masculine athletes, and she usually spent the hour eye-rolling painfully at some of their blatant misogyny, but today was different. Today it made her blood run cold.

“Dude, did you hear about Sharon and Alaska though?”

“What about them?”

“I heard that they’re like - you know. Like, fucking.”

“Like they’re lesbians? Woah.”

“That’s right, bro. That’s so hot.”

“Is that real? Dude, if it is, I wanna see this shit in action. Two hot chicks going at it? Fuck yeah!”

It made Katya shiver. Those girls were her friends, and whilst it was normal to hear them getting talked about sexually, this was so much worse. It was only second period and the rumours had already started to spread. Already, they had been reduced from ‘hot chicks I wanna fuck’ to ‘hot chicks I wanna watch fuck’ and both of them were thoroughly disgusting. However, one glance at Sharon’s face told her that the Mean Queen wasn’t hearing any of it. Her eyes were glassy and her gaze was cast downwards.

All throughout the corridors it had followed her. Maybe everyone talked extra loud when Katya came past, just to make her feel worse. A gaggle of girls made comments about how gross it was. Another group of jocks tossed around the words ‘dyke’ and ‘faggot’ like they meant nothing. All the while, Katya knew it was her fault. And she knew that soon, very soon, it would come to a crescendo.

That was precisely why she almost dropped her tray upon approaching the usual centre table of the Mean Queens. Instinctively, Katya’s gaze scanned the room - landing first on Alaska, who was sat hunched over in the corner where Willam and Courtney hung out, and then on Adore and Ginger, who were both watching her intently. She pushed away her tray of food, knowing there was no way she could try and eat now.

“Look at me, pay attention to me.” Violet was saying, her hands lightly slapping Sharon’s face. “The day is almost over. We can go home, relax, forget everything. Whatever you wanna do, we can do. Please just keep your chin up for a little longer. You’re doing so great.”

Shit. Katya felt sick. It didn’t matter how much bravery Violet tried to instill into Sharon, nothing was going to shield them from the storm that had been brewing all morning. Nothing could stop that from breaking.

“If it were that fucking easy, Vi, I’d be fine.” Sharon responded curtly, her voice low.

Violet sighed. “I know it isn’t. But it’s just another hour and then we leave this place. It should be her that’s not fine, anyway, not you. She’s the fucking asshole who let something perfect slip through her stupid fingers.”

“Don’t fucking remind me, will you?” Sharon snapped, then shook her head. “Whatever. One more hour and then I can feel exactly the same, but at home instead. Sounds great.”

Violet sighed again, trying not to show her frustration on her face. She knew how shit Sharon felt, but the other girl had been nearly impossible to deal with all day, especially when she’d caught sight of Alaska in the corridor. Violet felt like she’d spent half her time sending warning glances at the taller girl to let her know not to even think about coming over.

“At least we’ll be able to just sit on the couch, order takeaway, and watch some shit TV. That’s got to be better than being in this place, right?” Violet asked, trying to inject a note of false cheeriness into her tone in an attempt to raise Sharon’s spirits, but Sharon’s facial expression didn’t change.

“Sure, it’ll be better than being in this shithole. But it still won’t be good. It still won’t change what happened, it won’t make Alas-”

Sharon was cut off by Katya’s sharp inhale of breath as she spied Adore and Ginger coming towards their table, silence descending on the cafeteria with every step closer to the Mean Queens table. Sharon’s eyes narrowed as she stared at them, Violet twisting her chair to look in their direction.

“What the fuck are they doing?” Sharon hissed under her breath, making sure only Katya and Violet could hear her.

Katya felt her stomach drop out through her ass. She’d had a feeling that Sharon and Violet had been too caught up in the events of the previous night to have heard the rumours flying around the school because they hadn’t throttled her the moment they’d seen her, but this just confirmed it. Sharon had no idea what was about to happen, and judging from the confusion on Alaska’s face as she stared over at the group, she had no idea either.

Katya slunk down in her chair, wanting nothing more than for the ground to open up beneath her and swallow her whole.

“Shazza! Vi!” Adore greeted as she drew within earshot of the table, her eyes bright and glinting with malice.

“Crawl into a hole and die,” was the only response Sharon had, too tired and distraught to think up anything cleverer. She wasn’t in the mood to tease Adore and Ginger, and quite frankly couldn’t think of anything worse than having to talk to them.

The entire cafeteria was watching the interaction between the sworn enemies with bated breath, not sure what was about to happen or where this was going.

Violet just rolled her eyes, and flipped them both off. “Adore and Minj, as much as we’d love to stop and chat, I’d rather eat my own shit. Good day.”

A grin spread across Adore’s face at Violet’s words, and she shared a look with Ginger, before turning back to the Mean Queens and folding her arms across her chest.

“Funny,” Adore said in a level voice, trying to keep all emotion out of it. “Have you not heard what Sharon and Alaska are being called today?”

This stopped Violet and Sharon in their tracks, and an expression of shock flitted over both of their faces, before they managed to school their features back into their usual expression.

“Go ahead, tell us, before you explode and shower us in your dirty entrails.”

Adore stepped forward a few more paces, and placed a hand on Katya’s shoulder, the girl in question shrinking down in her seat.

“Really, it’s Katya you have to thank,” she started, Violet and Sharon’s eyes moving to stare at Katya in open astonishment, not entirely sure what Adore was on about.

“Katya?” Violet’s tone was incredulous, and she couldn’t take her gaze off of Katya’s guilty looking face.

Katya wasn’t even given a chance to say anything before Adore continued, her tone patronising as she built up to her revenge. She was clearly enjoying every second that she held their attention, along with the rest of the cafeteria, her voice perfectly pitched for everyone to hear every word.

“But honestly. It’s more of a congratulations than anything else. I mean, one year is a long time to date someone! You and Alaska must be so happy, right? I bet you had an amazing evening together.”

She paused, and then laughed. “Oh, wait… she didn’t show up, did she? And you ran home in tears because your girlfriend of one year stood you up, didn’t you?”

Sharon was physically shaking, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she breathed unnaturally fast. Both Sharon and Violet looked horrified, completely and utterly lost for words, and Katya didn’t even want to see how Alaska was reacting. Her gaze wandered off just in time to see the blonde run from the cafeteria, her face hidden in her hands and being chased by Willam and Courtney, the sound of their heels fading as Ginger opened her mouth to add to Adore’s speech.

“I didn’t even know you were gay! If there’s any other lesbians in here, she’s single!” With a cruel laugh, Ginger pointed down at Sharon, as if everybody wasn’t already staring at her. “No wonder you were so interested in my fucking minj. I’m sure if your mom knew about what you’ve been up to, she’d be very disappointed. The pictures are just all over Facebook at this point, it’s really quite embarrassing.”

Low blow. Katya was beyond terrified. In moments, they were pulling up every bit of information Katya had fed them, right from her first day back in September. Everything was coming out into the light.

“But don’t think we’re leaving you out, Violet. We felt sorry for you too, when we heard that Pearl was so disgusted that she slept with you that she ran out before you woke up. That’s pretty rough too. I suppose all it took were a few blowjobs to get your mind off her, huh?” 

“Don’t talk about Violet like that.” Sharon’s voice was dangerous, a total contrast to her face. The voice alone sent shivers down Katya’s spine, but her face was a picture of despair. She had no fight left in her whatsoever.

Adore simpered. “Okay, we’ll carry on talking about you. There’s almost too much to say, really. I guess this is what happens when a parent just lets their kid roam free. You hiding anything else from us? Beside the jealousy you had over Willam, which is stupidly ironic considering she’s the one who just ran after your girl - sorry, ex-girlfriend - instead of you. You got anything else to say at all?”

Katya waited, still clinging onto the desperate hope that Sharon would pull out some bitchy comment and shut Adore and Ginger down. It had happened before, and it needed to happen again. She waited, and waited, and waited. It never came.

“W-Why?”

Ignoring the way her voice had cracked, Sharon rose from her seat and started towards the door, almost curling in on herself as she tried to make her exit. She looked almost pathetically small as she walked through the silent cafeteria in the direction of the exit, her usual poise having disappeared completely. From somewhere in one of the corners, a jock threw an empty energy-drink can in her direction, the offending table whooping when it hit her arm and clanged against the floor. Just like Alaska had before her, that triggered Sharon to start running, not stopping until the door slammed shut behind her.

Violet shot to her feet, her eyes flaming. “How fucking dare you?!” She virtually screamed. “Is this some kind of fucking joke?”

In an instant, there came the sound of a sharp slap, and Adore’s cheek was a stark red, Violet’s hand still firm as though she wanted to hit her again. The fury in her gaze was so evident that even though Katya wasn’t currently her target, she still felt deathly afraid.

“MISS CHACHKI!” A teacher yelled, having spotted the interaction from afar.

“SHE FUCKING DESERVED IT!” Violet yelled back, and hastened to follow Sharon out of the room. “GINGER, KATYA, YOU JUST FUCKING WAIT UNTIL I CAN DEAL WITH YOU. YOU’RE AS GOOD AS DEAD.”

Katya’s heart stopped at Violet’s threatening words, knowing that she would make good on her promise. She watched with wide open eyes as Violet made her way out of the room, her gaze not leaving the girl until the door had once more slammed shut. It was only then that she allowed herself to look back at Adore and Ginger, flinching at the triumphant look she saw on their faces.

“Well, I don’t think that could have gone much better,” Adore said, high fiving Ginger and making to move away, before glancing back at Katya, a grin spreading across her face. “Thanks Kat, you were a real gem. Couldn’t have done this without you!”

Cackling loudly, the pair linked arms and sauntered out of the cafeteria, leaving the stunned students and a terrified Katya behind them. All eyes moved from Adore and Ginger to Katya, no one quite knowing what to say until the two girls had disappeared. Then, like any room full of teenagers would, the loud gossiping began at full-force.

Katya quickly rose from her chair, and made to leave the cafeteria, but was interrupted by a voice calling her name from behind her. She spun around to see Nathan beckoning her from a nearby table.

“Katya, come over here,” he almost demanded, and before Katya could tell her feet to move in the opposite direction, she found herself stood in front of a table crammed with Nathan and his jock friends all smirking at her.

“Is that shit true?” he asked, clearly the nominated spokesperson. “Is that shit about Violet true?” he clarified, not really caring about Sharon and Alaska.

Katya froze, not knowing what to do or what to say. She didn’t think she could make the situation any worse at this point. By the sounds of the conversations around her, everyone was taking Adore’s accusations as the truth, aided by the way Sharon, Alaska, and Violet had reacted.

“I-” Katya broke off and looked desperately around her, before looking back at Nathan. “Yeah, it’s true,” she said eventually, completely defeated.

The jocks all whistled, a weirdly hungry look in their eyes. Katya shrank back, not liking the way it was making her feel.

“That’s hot Nath. Did they never invite you into bed?” One of the jocks called out, heartily slapping Nathan on the back. Katya flushed on behalf of her friends and quickly stepped away from the table, heading slowly through the newly-revived cafeteria towards the exit.

“I literally had no idea. She gets changed right next to us! Ew. What if they, like, perv on us?!”

“Bro, you think she’d go straight for me?”

She could hear the conversations swirling around her as she walked, each new comment making her feel even sicker to the point where she truly couldn’t trust herself to open her mouth and stand up for her friends the way she wanted to. Not- not that they were her friends anymore. She’d made sure that she’d destroyed nearly every friendship she’d managed to make since coming to this school.

Katya’s eyes darted desperately around the room, trying to spot the one pink ray of hope that was left to her. Trixie. The girl in question was sat on a tiny table across the other side of the room from Katya, an expression of shock firmly planted on her painted features. Katya instantly made a beeline for the one friend she had left, trying to block out the nasty comments that followed her every footstep.

Trixie looked up as Katya drew ever closer, her bright blue eyes swimming with unshed tears.

“Trixie-” Katya started, a small part of her hoping that Trixie would take her side and lift her spirits in the way that only Trixie could. But Trixie’s expression was slowly turning into one filled with disappointment and fear, and for the umpteenth time that day, Katya’s heart felt like it had stopped.

“Don’t,” Trixie said tightly, clutching her bag close to her chest and standing up to face Katya, shaking her head. “Don’t say anything. I don’t want to be next.”

With that parting shot, Trixie left the room, leaving Katya more alone than ever behind her.

There was nothing left for Katya anymore. The damage was done, the rumours were spreading, the Mean Queens reputation was scattered in tatters around the cafeteria, all three girls being slandered everywhere Katya turned.

She fled.

Katya didn’t have a destination in mind, she just knew she needed to get out of the simultaneously accusatory and curious glances being thrown in her direction wherever she went. She darted down the closest empty corridor she could find, half hoping that if she ran far enough and fast enough she’d be able to run away from all of her problems.

But the corridor wasn’t as empty as it had looked at first glance, to Katya’s abject horror. Her line of vision fell first onto Sharon, who had seemingly given up and tumbled to the floor, her knees hugged tightly to her chest as the tears she’d tried her best to hold back in front of their peers in the cafeteria flooded down her cheeks and spilt onto the white cotton of her shirt. Violet was crouched next to her, her own eyes pouring, trying to murmur words of comfort despite her shaky voice and trembling lip.

“W-We can fix this, s-somehow,” Violet muttered desperately, Katya noticing that she was clinging onto Sharon just as tightly as Sharon was clinging onto her. “I-I know we can.”

“A-As fucking if,” Sharon responded, her words almost unintelligible. “W-We’re all f-fucked. M-Me, you, A-A-Alaska…”

Violet shook her head violently. “No. D-Don’t talk about her. Don’t t-talk about - Katya?!”

Katya froze, unable to speak, or move, or even breathe. She was frozen to the spot, Violet’s words having sent a thrill of terror through her unlike anything else she’d felt before. And she knew that whatever Violet had to say to her, she completely deserved.

“What? C-Come to eavesdrop on more shit to tell your f-fucking friends?! Y-You have a lot of nerve, I’ll give you that. Don’t even t-take a fucking step closer, you hear me? One step and I will - I will fucking murder you.”

Anyone else would’ve laughed at a teenage girl making such a mundane threat, but the utter fury that shone in Violet’s eyes told Katya that no matter how dumb it may have sounded, she would do her level best to turn her threat into a reality.

Katya had no doubts in her mind that she was really, truly, as good as dead.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Katya gets a dose of reality, Adore and Ginger congratulate themselves, and the girls all celebrate the holidays apart

Time was ceasing to mean anything to Katya. If pressed, she didn’t even think she could say how long it had been since that disastrous last day of school, when her entire world that she’d been building since September had quite literally come crashing down around her and was now scattered in ruins with the memories of the friendships she had destroyed.

Katya was in the same position she’d been in for days now, staring with unseeing eyes at the cracked white ceiling of her bedroom, lost in the memory of the day she’d lost everything. Sharon’s face was permanently burned into her memory, and she couldn’t shake the mixed feeling of guilt, anguish, and shame that had been her constant state since Sharon and Alaska had been outed on her information. Her mind was in a constant maelstrom of thoughts as she replayed the moment Adore and Ginger had walked up to the table that she was sat at with Sharon and Violet, and wished more than anything that she’d had the confidence in that moment to stand up to them, and stop them before they could out her friends- well, her former friends now, she supposed, the thought sending a shooting pain through her heart. There was no way that they were ever going to look at her again, let alone be her friend.

It seemed that bits and pieces of those girls had stuck with her, though. When she did emerge from her room, moodily descending the stairs to grab something to eat and then retreating again, she’d found herself snapping a lot more. A newfound attitude had just appeared out of nowhere and tended to rear its ugly head when she wanted to be left alone - which happened to be all the time. Katya wasn’t even safe from her own words now. Her own voice reminded her of Violet and Sharon and Alaska.

Of course, her mom wasn’t taking any of it. The first few times, she’d simply raised an eyebrow and fixed Katya with that stare, the one that left grown men quaking in their boots. In response to that Katya had rolled her eyes and huffed, earning another chilling glare and silence. She knew she needed to tone down the bitchy attitude she’d picked up, but the angry ball of feelings inside her left no room for rational thoughts. Time and time again she just kept snapping back at everything her mom said, the words coming out before she could even think about what she was saying.

“KATYA?” Came her mom’s voice from downstairs. “WILL YOU COME DOWN HERE?”

Katya ignored her. Really, the last thing she wanted was to face her mom, when she could be doing much more valuable and productive things, like wallowing in her self-hatred.

“KATYA! COME DOWN HERE!”

Still, Katya ignored the demand.

“YEKATERINA, SO HELP ME, IF YOU DON’T RESPOND TO ME AND COME DOWN THE STAIRS IN THE NEXT FIVE SECONDS I WILL-”

“Jesus fuck, I’m coming!” Katya yelled. “Don’t get your fucking panties in a bunch, I’m on my way.”

With an irritated sigh, she pulled herself up from her perch on her bed and started to make her way down the stairs, slightly light-headed from how long she’d been lying there. Had it been an hour? Two? A day? At this point, it seemed impossible to tell.

The second Katya made eye contact with her mom, she knew exactly what she was in for. The dark haired woman was sat in her chair in the living room, immaculately made up face stony, watching the stairs for Katya’s arrival. When she spotted her daughter, without a word she pointed one manicured finger at Katya, and then gestured at the couch in front of her. Swallowing, Katya followed her instructions and sat down, picking at her fingernails and refusing to make eye contact with her mom.

“Explain.”

Katya would never understand her mom’s ability to convey a million different meanings and emotions with just one, cold word, but she’d always be in awe of it. The command hung in the tense air between mother and daughter, and Katya bit her lip, not knowing where to start. She was completely in the wrong in so many ways, and despite her attitude adjustment she couldn’t bring herself to explain it, and make her mom see just why she’d been acting like a brat. Because the truth was, she didn’t deserve the privilege of acting like a brat.

“Yekaterina, I’m not getting any younger. Either you explain, or I get your father on the phone and you can explain to him.” If it was possible, Michelle’s voice had gotten even colder, and Katya shrank back, still not looking at the older woman.

“Don’t call me Yekaterina,” Katya said instinctively, wincing as she felt the anger roll off of her mom in waves. 

“Yekaterina. Am I your mom or am I your slave? You’ve been in this house since you broke up from school with a bad attitude and a foul mouth. I want to know why. Start talking.”

“I - so - um - yeah. I did, um. I did a bad. I didn’t - I really fu-messed up. And now, I… Um. I don’t know what I should do. I’m sorry.” Katya stumbled over the words as they fell from her lips, knowing she wasn’t making much sense, but not knowing how to make sense of the shit situation for her mom.

“Katya, I need more than that. Messed up how? What do you need to do? Why are you sorry? Talk to me.” Her mom’s tone softened considerably at the genuine remorse and guilt in Katya’s tone. She leant forwards slightly, her stiff, almost mean posture fading as she relaxed back into the sweet-natured, well-meaning woman that she’d always been. Katya let out a long sigh, her stomach twisting at the very thought of explaining what she’d done.

“Do you - do you remember those girls I showed you? The three of them, we took a picture together at Halloween and I showed it to you?” She began, her heart racing, and her palms clammy.

“I remember. What were their names again? I remember one of them was called Violet, right? The one with the waist? I don’t remember the other two’s names. What about them?”

“Violet, Sharon, Alaska. That’s their names. I - um. I really massively hurt them and if - if you’ll let me say this without killing me, I’ve ruined their fucking lives and I can’t stop thinking about what an awful person I am and how much they must hate me and they’re suffering because of my big mouth that couldn’t stay shut and everything has completely fallen apart and every single undone stitch was hand-picked out by me and I’m not even making sense anymore because I just can’t-”

Katya could feel her breathing starting to speed up, her chest tightening as she tried and failed to find enough air. Recognising this all too well, her mom rose from her seat and sat next to her, wrapping her arms around her and holding on for dear life. A conflicting mixture of guilty and relieved, Katya buried her face into her mom’s chest and let herself have a little cry, knowing deep down that her moment of weakness was nothing compared to the strength she’d stripped from each Mean Queen.

“What did you do to them?” Michelle pressed, one hand gently rubbing Katya’s back. “I can’t imagine it was that bad… you three seemed like such lovely friends.”

Katya snorted. “Seemed is the right word. We - we were great friends, and they were so amazing to me, even though everyone says they’re the meanest girls in school. People call them the Mean Queens mom, but they- they were never mean to me. To other people- but I just got caught up in the midst of everything and I thought everything was black and white but it’s not, it’s this huge grey area and no one is bad but no one is good and they all have this terrible lives and stories and it’s not just them, it’s Adore and it’s Ginger and it’s -”

Yet again her words were running away from her, betraying her lips as they spilled out faster than she could hold them back. Soon enough, she’d admitted everything. How quickly she’d gotten tangled into a web of lies, how she’d been so gullible to believe that the Mean Queens were mean inside and out, and that Adore and Ginger were vigilantes bringing the girls to justice, and that what Katya was doing was the right thing to do, for all those people who had been hurt by the Mean Queens. How she’d realized too late that each and every one of them, from Sharon to Adore, was simply a survivor doing their best to get through high school and out the other side, and Katya was just tearing open old wounds whilst ripping out new ones. How she’d realised that despite the bitchy exterior, the so-called Mean Queens were just people. How she’d realised too late that what she was doing was very, very wrong.

All through her story, her mom stayed quiet, her lips pursed as she listened and nodded. Very occasionally her eyes would widen slightly with shock at something Katya had said or done, only intensifying the guilt she felt, but she was thankful to see something of a non-judgemental, understanding expression. She knew she was going to be chewed out - and deserved it - but there was a hint of warmth behind her eyes that told Katya one person was on her side. Michelle would never just write off her and condemn her to her actions. No matter what happened, she had her.

When Katya had finally finished telling her story, she inhaled deeply, realising that she’d barely breathed through the whole tale, just wanting to get it out there in the open before it chewed her up inside. There was a weird lightness to her shoulders though, now that her mom knew the awful, awful truth.

Michelle stayed silent for a few moments, processing what her daughter had just told her and formulating her response, knowing that the pair needed to have a serious talk about Katya’s actions and the consequences of those actions, but not wanting to approach it in the wrong way. She’d gathered from the tale that Katya really had just fallen into her role as a ‘double agent’ of sorts for Adore and Ginger, and part of her wished that they’d never left Russia and come to this new country where they’d had to start all over again.

“You don’t need me to tell you that you’ve made a stupid, awful mistake,” Michelle started, keeping an arm around Katya as she let her daughter sob into her chest.

“I’ve fucked everything up mom, and I don’t- I don’t know what I can do now.”

“You have to take responsibility for your actions, you have to own up to what you’ve done to your friends, and eventually you’re going to have to apologise. I didn’t raise you to be this person Yekaterina. I raised you to be thoughtful, kind, and respectful, and I don’t recognise my daughter right now. What you did was wrong, and I don’t know if you’ll be able to fix it. But you’ll have to apologise, and you have to stop wallowing in your own self-hatred.” The words were harsh, but weirdly they made Katya feel better. Telling her mom had been the worst thing, because she’d always known that Michelle wouldn’t tolerate that kind of behaviour. But now she knew, and she was being reasonable about it.

As much as she didn’t want to, Katya knew she’d have to apologise to all of her former friends one day.

**************************************************

“I still can’t believe we actually pulled this off.”

It was a sentiment Ginger had uttered every day since both her and Adore had outed Sharon, Alaska, and Violet to the disgust of the rest of the school. And every day Adore had laughed and high fived her in response, the high from the reactions of all the Mean Queens and the rest of the school coming back every time she thought about it.

“I never doubted us,” Adore grinned, stretching out on the bed and grabbing her phone from where it was lying in between them. She unlocked it and clicked on the photos icon, the snapchats Katya had sent her the first pictures that came up. “We should get these out, get them circulating. I know they were our backup plan if no one believed us but- it won’t hurt to give everyone concrete proof anyway.”

Ginger glanced over at Adore’s phone as the other girl scrolled through each pictures, wrinkling her nose up at some of the more explicit ones.

“I could have gone without seeing naked Sharon and naked Alaska, honestly,” she pretended to vomit, Adore cackling in response.

“Their bodies aren’t so bad,” Adore said, pausing on one of the snapchats and zooming in slightly. “They do have flawless skin.”

“Flawless skin doesn’t make up for being a cunt,” was all Ginger had to say in response as she grabbed her own phone, and clicked onto the contacts. “All we need to do is send a couple of those snaps over to Brett, and he’ll do all the dirty work for us,” Ginger added, looking over at Adore and sharing a knowing glance with her.

“The only question is, which pictures will work best?” Adore mused, flipping back through them. Katya had given them a big enough selection to choose from, everything from mundane snaps of the two of them sat together on a couch, to completely nude and in bed together.

“A good selection, like a fancy cheese board.”

“God, you are obsessed with food,” Adore laughed, ignoring the way Ginger’s cheeks coloured slightly. “This one, this one, and this one?” She asked, showing Ginger three different snaps that incriminated Sharon and Alaska in slightly different ways. Both Adore and Ginger’s eyes widened at the worst of the three, one that happened to show their faces and bodies all at once. They couldn’t have provided a better picture if they’d tried. It couldn’t be misconstrued as anything but what was prominent in the photo.

Ginger chuckled and nodded. “Looks good to me.”

Adore quickly attached the pictures she’d chosen into a text message, and in a blink of an eye, she’d sent it to Brett. There was a palpable excitement in the room as Adore and Ginger shared a look, the enormity of what they’d done sinking in, filling them both with a weird, exhilarated buzz.

“Oh my god,” Adore breathed, her eyes sparkling as she locked her phone again and sank back into the bed. “This is actually it.”

“They are never going to be popular again,” Ginger finished, the thought of the Mean Queens having been completely knocked off their spot at the top of the food chain filling her with a huge sense of relief, and a lot more enjoyment. 

“We did good girl,” Adore sighed, letting her eyes fall shut as she ran through every scenario she could think of in her head as to the reaction to the pictures, which she had no doubt would be all around the school by the end of the day.

They had enough time now, over the Christmas vacation, for people to start talking about the pictures and for the whole thing to blow up, before they even got back to school. Both girls knew Brett’s reputation - he was an athlete, of course, but none of the teachers knew that he was also sleazy, sly, and arguably the school’s largest weed dealer. The only reason Adore and Ginger had a link with him was because of his side-gig, after all. As it had turned out, he was the crucial link. He could leak whatever pictures he wanted, and ask for more as he most likely would, and he’d be the one sharing them around. It had happened before on a smaller scale, but Ginger and Adore knew that this would be a much bigger story than the last time it had happened. Every guy in the school clamoured to see the Mean Queens the way they had exposed them, and now they could from the privacy of their own phones.

“Ha, look at this.” Ginger said suddenly, scrolling on her phone. “Sharon Needles, active one week ago. She hasn’t been on here since last week when we finally told everyone the dirty secrets she’s been hiding.”

Adore snorted. “She’s so fucking mortified she doesn’t even wanna show her face online. For an attention whore like her, this must be killing her.”

The laughter that followed sounded more like two witches cackling than anything else. Ginger cracked up at just the sound of Adore’s amusement, her grin widening to match her best friend’s.

“Well, in any case,” She mused, “Those pictures will give her a fair amount of attention. Really, we’re doing her a favour.”

“Exactly.” Adore said firmly. “She wants attention, she’ll fucking get it. Maybe next time she bullies someone for something stupid, she’ll remember that she’s got a million and one skeletons in the closet she just came out of. You don’t get to be a bully if you have that much shit you’re hiding.”

Ginger smiled wickedly. “This might sound a little crude -”

“I already love what you’re about to say. Go for it.” Adore interrupted, grinning.

“-but I’ve just realized,” Ginger continued, “That maybe now people will stop calling me Ginger Minj. They’ve got someone else’s fucking minj to talk about now.”

For the second time that day, and definitely not the last, the pair burst out into elated laughter yet again. After years and years of what felt like slow torture from the Mean Queens, they’d achieved the unachievable. It was just like they’d told Katya, way back in September. “Take down Sharon Needles, and the whole system fails. Take down Chachki and Thunderfuck, and you’ve got anarchy.”

They’d finally gotten anarchy.

******************************************************

Violet awoke first to a sense of excitement, and then confusion. The child inside her was begging to jump out of bed and run down the stairs, the way she used to on Christmas day. The memory of Christmases past brought a small nostalgic smile to her lips - waking up at five thirty on December 25th, bounding into Alyssa’s room hand in hand with Sharon and bouncing up and down about Santa’s arrival. Of course, as they’d gotten older, the Santa Claus fascination had died out and had been replaced by excitement for the festivities and traditions, but it had always been her and Sharon together, grinning and laughing and talking. Sharon always claimed Halloween was her holiday, but Violet knew she loved Christmas.

Yet there hung a different feeling in the air of this year. At first, she was confused by the quiet sound of rapid breathing coming from beside her, but soon enough she recognised the all-too-familiar sound as the truth of the day dawned on her. Once again, having woken up early - or perhaps not even having fallen asleep at all - Sharon was crying softly into her pillow. It happened nearly every night and every morning (and, if she was honest, nearly every hour of the day), but Violet had still clung onto a little bit of hope that maybe Christmas would change things, that some of the magic of the season would come back and lift Sharon’s spirits. Apparently not.

“M-Merry Christmas.” She whispered, not sure of what else to say. Somewhere under the duvet, Sharon’s hand reached for Violet’s and held tight, Violet squeezing it just enough to let her know she was right there beside her. A couple of seconds of silence passed before Sharon could muster any words.

“Merry Christmas, Vi. Did I wake you?”

Trying her best to ignore how heartbreakingly pathetic her best friend sounded, Violet shook her head, shifting so she could have a better view of Sharon next to her.

“Not at all.” She lied, offering a reassuring smile. “Come on, I know it’s early but I’m guessing you’ve been awake a while. You wanna get up, and we can talk?”

At least Sharon was willingly getting out of bed, Violet supposed. It had been a struggle to get her to do anything besides exist, so this had to be a step up. A small step up, but right now Violet would take anything. It had been breaking both hers and Alyssa’s hearts to see the once proud and confident Mean Queen reduced to nothing by someone they’d only known for a few months, two people they didn’t even care for, and worst of all, someone they trusted. Between them, they couldn’t decide which betrayal was worse.

Violet rolled out of bed and stretched, her shoulders cracking as she lifted her hands to the sky. She’d hadn’t slept properly in a week, and she was really beginning to feel the side effects now. But Sharon would always come first to her, and if she had to sacrifice a few hours of shut eye- well, it would be worth it in the long run. Speaking of Sharon… Violet turned around to see the other girl stood still as a statue in the middle of the room, her eyes fixed on the mantlepiece around the fireplace in Violet’s room. Violet followed her gaze, and with some confusion, clocked the two stockings hanging there, both bulging with the small gifts Alyssa had filled them with the night before.

“Shaz?” Violet questioned, stepping up next to her best friend and glancing between her and the knitted stockings. “Am I missing something here?”

“We- we don’t need to wait this year,” Sharon whispered, her voice filled with a note of pain that shot daggers through Violet’s heart. Still- she had no idea what Sharon was going on about, and probed her friend further.

“What do you mean, we don’t need to wait?”

“We don’t need to wait for Alas- we don’t need to wait for her.” With that, fresh tears cascaded from Sharon’s eyes and rolled hotly down her cheeks, leaving glistening trails in their wake that Sharon didn’t even attempt to wipe away.

Violet’s eyes widened as the truth of what Sharon was talking about dawned on her, and she felt a vice like grip tighten around her chest. Of course. They usually did big presents in the morning, just the three of them, and left the stockings hanging above the fireplace for when Alaska arrived in the late afternoon to spend the Christmas evening with what had been her real family. But this year, for the first time in four years, Alaska’s stocking was languishing in the attic where Violet had stashed it the week before, to save Sharon from having to look at it day in, day out.

Sharon was right. They wouldn’t need to wait. Alaska wasn’t coming.

A short while later, Violet and Sharon found themselves tucked up on the squishy couch in the living room downstairs, piles of blankets on top of them, and a steaming cup of cocoa cradled in each of their hands, having been pressed there by Alyssa when they’d made their appearance downstairs. They hadn’t said much since the stocking incident, Sharon too busy thinking about how Alaska wasn’t there, and Violet too busy thinking how she desperately needed to knock some sense into her friend. This had been going on for too long now. Violet knew how heartbroken Sharon was, but she also knew that at some point, Sharon had to pull up her big girl panties and move on with her life, lest she revert back to the lost girl she’d once been.

“Sharon-” Violet started, only to be cut off by Sharon raising a hand and shaking her head.

“I don’t want to hear it. I can feel you thinking,” was all she said, her tone utterly defeated.

“You might not want to hear it, but you need to hear it,” Violet countered, warming up to her subject. She shifted on the couch slightly, so she could see Sharon better, and took a sip from her favourite mug.

“I know what you’re going to say Vi,” Sharon said, hunkering down even further into the corner of the L-shaped seat that she’d hidden herself in, looking smaller and more pathetic than she had done in a long while.

“Well, tell me then.”

“You’re going to say that I need to get over Al- I need to get over her, and stop thinking about her, because she’s not coming back. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to get over her.” Sharon’s voice was low, carrying the constant heartbreak that she’d been feeling since the night of their anniversary.

At the moment, she couldn’t even bring herself to care about the fact that they’d been outed a week ago. Sure, she hadn’t been on social media, or even on her phone at all, since that incident, but what did it matter, really? The whole school knew she was dating Alaska. Only, she wasn’t dating Alaska. Not anymore. That ship had sailed, hit an iceberg, and sunk to the bottom of the ocean with the rest of Sharon’s happiness.

“You can’t even say her fucking name!” Violet cried out, before steeling herself. “Look, I know that was mean. But if you know what I’m going to say, you obviously know there’s some truth behind it. What good is dwelling on her gonna do? You can’t just close your eyes and wish her back into your life. She chose to walk out and leave behind the perfect girlfriend and an amazing friend. That’s on her.”

Sharon chewed her lip. “She -”

“-She made that decision. You didn’t cause that.” Violet insisted. “Has she made any attempts to contact you?”

“No.”

“Has she showed her face anywhere you might see it?”

“No.”

“Has she offered any semblance of an apology?”

“No.”

“Do you still think she’s worth your time?”

“Of course I do.”

Violet sighed. “You should know you’re worth more than this. All these tears, and for what? There are tons of beautiful girls out there who won’t hurt you. Even just thinking about her is hurting you. She’s not good for you Sharon, and I don’t want to hear you try and defend her. I know you can’t see a future without her but trust me- it’s for the best now. One day you’ll find a beautiful girl who will treat you the way you deserve to be treated, that much I can promise you.”

Perhaps it was Violet’s concerned tone that summed Alyssa, or just her own intuition, but soon after she’d finished speaking, Alyssa poked her head back round the door and nodded approvingly.

“She’s right, you know. This might seem like the end of the world now, but I remember how you used to be when you were much younger, when you first started coming round here. It was terrible then, but it got better. This hurts now, but we’re here to make it better. The three of us, like always.”

Violet nodded at her mom, before turning back to look at Sharon. Just as she’d expected, her expression was one of pure disbelief, a sense of hopelessness dulling the spark in her eyes. Clearly, as much as she wanted to believe what Violet and Alyssa were saying, she didn’t. She just couldn’t see things improving, couldn’t see herself getting dragged out from the state she’d fallen into. Life without Alaska wasn’t one she wanted to be part of.

“It would be easier if I could be angry at her,” was all Sharon had to say as she pulled the blankets further over herself, wanting nothing more than to hide for the next fifty years.

“You should be angry at her!” Violet said, ignoring how Alyssa shook her head in disagreement. “No, mom. I know that you think that being angry isn’t good for you, but what Alaska did is unforgivable, even if she didn’t know about Sharon’s past. Sharon should be mad at her for what she did, I know I am. I’m furious.”

“But she- she’s Alaska,” Sharon replied, forcing the name out through reluctant lips, the sound of the familiar word sending daggers through her already shattered heart. “It’s like being mad at a kitten I- I just want her.”

The statement was pathetic, and the voice that uttered it was weak, and Violet didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Sorry. It’s - It’s Christmas. It’s just that I know how much she loves Christmas and - never mind. I’ll be fine soon enough, I guess it’s just today.” Sharon conceded, her hands still wrapped around the long-empty mug. A prolonged silence followed, with Violet and Alyssa eyeing each other warily as Sharon’s eyes hit the floor. 

Not one of them believed her.

****************************************

New Year’s Eve. Alaska wasn’t entirely sure how she’d made it that far, the memory of the past couple weeks a total blur. She hated being at home at the best of times, and at the moment she was so far from that that she could barely even remember what happiness felt like. Pushing the thought out of her head of the evening she was supposed to have if she hadn’t royally fucked everything up for everyone, Alaska pulled on an oversized dress and flats, and threw her hair up into a bun. It wasn’t even close to being a decent look, but it would do. At least it wasn’t sweatpants, and she had showered that morning.

Grabbing her rucksack, Alaska made her way down the stairs and stuck her head round the door to the living room where her parents were sat at opposite ends of the couch, staring blankly at the TV.

“I’m going round to Willam’s, I’ll be back tomorrow,” she informed them, her tone lifeless. It had taken a lot of cajoling on Willam and Courtney’s part to get Alaska to leave the house and actually engage in life, and as much as she didn’t want to make the effort and go, there was a nugget of excitement about seeing her friends and not having to spend another minute with her family.

“Willam?” Her dad questioned, actually tearing his eyes away to look at his daughter. “I don’t know about her. People talk.”

Her mom hummed in agreement, her voice lowered as though she were sharing gossip. “You know what they say, Alaska. That she’s weird. She swings for the other team.”

“I’m not sure I want my daughter hanging around with someone like that. You’re not some kind of dyke like her.”

Alaska winced as the words echoed around the cluttered room, the look of absolute disgust on her parent’s faces searing itself into her brain. She didn’t know where exactly they’d picked this rumour about Willam up - although she had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with Sharon - but it was the same sickening spiel every time she mentioned her friend’s name. The same words that had terrified her into not wanting to come out in the first place, giving Adore and Ginger the power that they had when they outed the three Mean Queens in the cafeteria.

“She’s my friend, dad. She’s- none of us are like that. We would never. I promise.”

The words felt forced, but they seemed to placate her father, at least for now, and he grunted his assent, before turning his attention back to the TV. Seizing the moment, Alaska shut the door and escaped out of the house, not even bothering to stop for her car keys. Willam didn’t live that far away, and she needed to go now before her parents changed their mind and made her stay.

“Lasky!” The tiny ball of sunshine that was Courtney Act threw open the door to Willam’s house, and pulled Alaska into a tight hug. “We’re so glad you came, we’ve missed you.”

“Let her get in the fucking door Court.” The ever delightful voice of Willam sounded from behind the small blonde, and Alaska managed to crack a small smile as Courtney stood back to allow Alaska into the house, and the small group made their way upstairs.

Alaska had only been around to Willam’s house a handful of times, the three friends usually preferring to spend time together outside or at the mall, but there was a comforting familiarity about the lived in look of the Belli residence, and the smell of lunch cooking that permeated the air.

“How are you holding up?” Willam questioned when the three had settled down in her room, Alaska sprawled out on the bed, Courtney spinning in the corner on the desk chair, and herself cross-legged next to Alaska.

Alaska spread her hands out flat in the air above herself, and shrugged.

“Fine, I guess. I- I don’t have a foot to jump on.”

It was all Courtney and Willam could do to stop themselves laughing as Alaska butchered the well known phrase, but they managed to conceal their snickers, and place a sombre look on their faces.

“Leg to stand on Lask. You mean you haven’t got a leg to stand on,” Courtney corrected gently.

“Why haven’t you got a leg to stand on?” questioned Willam as she pushed wisps of Alaska’s hair out of the other girl’s eyes, her tone unusually soft. Willam and Courtney had spent a significant portion of their time over the holiday’s discussing the whole situation, from Alaska forgetting about the date to Adore and Ginger outing the Mean Queens, and they were both firmly on Alaska’s side.

“I can’t be upset when this whole thing is my fault,” Alaska clarified, letting her eyes fall shut as she sighed deeply. “I was the one who destroyed our relationship and hurt Sharon. I never- I never wanted to hurt her.”

Courtney nodded sympathetically. “We know Lasky. But- we both think this - Sharon should have at least let you go round and apologise. People forget about dates and important stuff all the time, it’s not like you do it every day. And Katya outing you- that had nothing to do with you.”

“You can be upset, we won’t judge you,” Willam chimed in, but Alaska just shook her head.

“I can’t stop thinking about all of it. Me fucking up, being outed - I mean, everyone knows. What if it gets back to my parents?”

Instantly, Courtney shot to her feet to sit herself down next to Alaska, resting her hand on the Mean Queen’s thigh to try and comfort her.

“It won’t, they won’t know. I’m sure - I’m sure in a few weeks… months… it’ll all blow over. People will forget!” She tried to sound hopeful, injecting a positive note into her voice.

It had little effect on Alaska. “But if it doesn’t, and they see it all? I mean, we’re big names in the school, and it wouldn’t take a genius to realize that ‘Sharon Needles’ isn’t a guy. There goes all my lies out of the window, doesn’t it?”

Willam shrugged. “I don’t know about that,” She brushed it off, her tone light. “Have you seen her shoulders? And that voice. Does she smoke a pack a day or what?”

Alaska couldn’t tell from the way she was lying down, but she was fairly sure from Willam’s sudden pained yelp that Courtney had either whacked or pinched her to shut her up. She pulled herself up to see Willam angrily rubbing her arm, glaring daggers at Courtney who was throwing them right back.

“I was serious!” Willam protested. “I don’t like her, and I guess that your friends bashing her won’t help, but she really is fucking horrible. And she does have shoulders like a man! She just does!”

Courtney nodded. “Fine, whatever. I don’t dislike her, but she wasn’t too nice to a lot of people, and I don’t understand why she’s being so dramatic over the whole date thing. You made an honest mistake, Lask, and you would’ve apologised if she and Violet would let you anywhere near.”

“Exactly!” Willam burst out. “Shit like that happens all the time. I guess she has her reasons for overreacting, like that whole deal with her mom, but… she needs to pull herself together. I might hate her, but what you two had was special.”

Alaska frowned. Willam’s words had sounded so perfectly natural and factual, yet she couldn’t wrap her head around them. What was this deal with her mom that Willam had mentioned? Alaska knew things weren’t great between them - why else would she spend all of her time at Violet’s? - but she assumed it was sort of like her own situation. She hated being at home and would make any excuse to rush out and go to hang out with Violet and Sharon, and had always just guessed there was nothing more to it in Sharon’s case too.

It was only at Willam waving her hands in front of Alaska’s face that she realized she’d been staring blankly at her friend in a confused silence. Shaking her head, she frowned again and chewed her lip.

“Her mom?”

Willam appeared to be just as confused as Alaska. “Yes? You know, her never being there and leaving Sharon on her own all the time? Basically being a shitty negligent parent? You know. The reason she’s a gigantic attention whore?”

Alaska’s stomach dropped. “She - she what? Say that again?”

“Her mom? Come on, you know what I mean. This isn’t news to you.” Willam pressed.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Alaska told her, suddenly feeling sick. “Her mom neglected her?! How do you know this? Why don’t I know this? What -”

Courtney piped up out of nowhere, her brow creased. “I didn’t know you knew all this about her. When did you become the Encyclopedia of Sharon?”

Willam looked stunned. “Alaska, didn’t she ever tell you?” She questioned, then cut Alaska off as she shook her head. “Of course not. Figures, she never told me either. Guess we’re in the same boat she left me in.”

“Willam-” Alaska started, sitting upright so that she could get a better look at the expression on her friend’s face. “Please just- start from the beginning. She’s never told me any of this.”

Courtney and Alaska sat in a stunned silence as Willam told the pair what she knew about Sharon’s past, about how they’d been friends before Violet had come into the picture, and how Willam had found out too much about Sharon’s home life, and how that had been the end of their relationship. Alaska’s mouth dropped steadily further open as more and more of the truth spilled out, her mind frantically working to try and work out how she’d not realised any of this before.

“Wills, please tell me you’re just joking.” It was Alaska’s last hope. Deep down she knew that of course Willam was speaking the truth, that despite her hatred for Sharon - a hatred Alaska now understood - but she wished more than anything that the other blonde was just pulling her leg. But Willam was shaking her head, and Alaska felt her heart drop out of her ass.

“Sorry Lask,” Willam said gently, her eyes weirdly bright. “I- I’m not joking. I wish I was, I wish I didn’t know this. It tore our friendship apart.”

Willam’s sentences were short, but Alaska and Courtney could hear the undercurrent of pain and regret coming through, an emotion that the girl didn’t often express. Willam was one of those people who went through life with a joke in her eyes and a smile on her lips, and Alaska couldn’t remember a time when she’d actually been vulnerable around them.

“I-” Alaska broke off, shaking her head. She was a tangled bundle of thoughts and emotions, and she didn’t even know where to begin making sense of everything.

“Don’t,” Willam said, looking at Alaska intently. “This is what Sharon does. She doesn’t give people a second chance, I don’t fucking know why, but she won’t let people apologise. I tried so many times Lasky- I really tried, but she…she’ll just cut you off and never speak to you again. Sure, you fucked it up by hurting her. But Sharon will fuck it up by not letting you explain.”

Burning hot tears sprang to the corners of Willam’s eyes as she spoke, and before she could completely let her guard down in front of her two best friends, she’d ran from the room, leaving a dismayed Courtney looking worriedly between the door and Alaska.

“Go after her,” Alaska said, knowing what Courtney would be most worried about. The tiny blonde didn’t need to be told again, and within seconds she’d run out of the room to find and comfort her girlfriend.

Alaska was left alone, doing anything she could to hold back the tears that were blurring her vision and threatening to roll down her cheeks. She managed to keep them in until she’d had a couple of drinks later on that evening, when the sky had darkened to a deep, velvety black and the group of three had made their way downstairs in anticipation for the fireworks that would ring in the new year. They clung to one another as premature explosions sounded off in the background, painting the sky with flashes of red, blue, green and gold light that glinted off the silent tears rolling down Alaska’s cheeks, filling her with a foreboding feeling about the year ahead.

“FIVE!” They yelled in unison.

“FOUR!” Sharon and Violet counted, swaying slightly with their empty glasses.

“THREE!” Adore hugged her mom, watching the clock.

“TWO!” Ginger called out.

“ONE!” Katya and Michelle shrieked.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”


End file.
